My Life: Anything But Ordinary
by Hamato Kameko
Summary: AU based on Sonic X, OC - Kianna Thorndyke falls from the Eggfort, but soon finds that her wounds are the least of her problems. She now has fur...
1. A Not So Mysterious Stranger

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2010 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2010 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

**NOTICE:** The story "_Beyond All Odds_" is **no longer canon** to "_My Life: Anything But Ordinary_." They are **completely separate** storylines. "_Beyond All Odds_" is now a stand-alone "what if" story _only_.

* * *

I'm an echidna.

That may or may not seem remarkable, depending on whether or not you've heard of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends.

It's pretty damn remarkable to me.

You see, I haven't _always _been an echidna. I was born a human. I _was_ human for over fifteen years. And then something happened that no one's really been able to explain.

Eggman was attacking again, and, as usual, I went along to help in the fight.

I had to be carried home. It was a miracle that I'd survived at all.

And my life would never be the same.

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary  
Chapter I: A Not-So-Mysterious Stranger**

I lay there for a long time, the gash on my chest and countless other lacerations oozing blood, my head throbbing from the impact against the rather unforgiving ground, just staring at myself. Or rather, what little of myself I could see from that position. Mostly my right arm. Which was, as far as I could tell, covered in yellow fur.

Oddly, at the time, this didn't worry me. I wasn't panicked. I wasn't afraid. I felt... normal, aside from my apparent change in species. And my injuries. It was surreal.

After a while – I really don't know how long; it could have been ten minutes or it could have been two hours – I heard the X Tornado's engines approaching. I figured I should get up, so, slowly, I pulled myself up into a sitting position. I could see a lot more of myself from here. Another funny thing – the first thing I noticed was my clothes. They had apparently shrunk with me, because despite the fact that I'd just lost over two and a half feet of height, everything, even my sneakers, fit exactly the same as they had before. Whoever had orchestrated my transformation had at least ensured that I'd have something to wear. That was a plus.

Then again, maybe not, considering how shredded my shirt and jeans were from my fall.

I held my hands out in front of me. Something was different. For one thing, I was wearing white gloves. I never wore gloves. Pulling them off, I inspected my bare hands, turning them this way and that. They hadn't changed all that much – they were still hands, at any rate. A fraction smaller, and a little... off, somehow, but they were still built the same way, still worked the same. Pinky finger, ring finger, middle finger, index finger, and thumb. Yup, all there. And spikes.

...Spikes?

Yes, spikes. Apparently, Knuckles isn't the only echidna who has them. I held my hands up in front of my face for a closer look. I had always wondered about Knuckles' hands. I'd been curious as to whether the sharp points for which he was apparently named were actually a part of his hands, or built into his gloves, or what. Strange that they don't tear through his gloves when he uses them. Must be specially made. The gloves I mean. I'd have to remember to ask him about that.

Then again, maybe I could just examine the gloves I was already holding. Where _had_ these things come from, anyway?

There were two of the things on each hand, slightly smaller than Knuckles', but no less sharp. Weird bony things poking through the skin between the knuckles of my index and middle finger, and between the knuckles of my ring finger and pinky; they reminded me distinctly of goat horns. I had horns growing out of my hands.

I looked down at my chest, noting that it was a good bit more flat than it had been. I hadn't exactly been a D cup before, but now there was nothing. My chest was entirely featureless, aside from the good-sized gash that ran nearly the entire length of the tear in my shirt – nearly five inches, which was quite long considering my new size. It was still bleeding, but it wasn't as painful as it looked. I didn't seem to be nearly as affected by my injuries as I should have been, I realized, and it occurred to me that I might be in shock. I didn't take any more time to consider this fact, though, and instead pushed myself to my feet. I swayed and grabbed hold of the tree trunk nearest to me for support, clenching my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut until my surroundings settled. Then I looked around.

I was surrounded by thick trees – in fact, that was probably the only reason the fall hadn't killed me. The ground was littered with leaves and broken tree branches; apparently, they had broken off as I fell. That explained why I wasn't little more than a human splat – the trees had slowed me down. The one I was leaning on was a giant, its gnarled roots poked out of the ground here and there, and I had to step carefully to keep from tripping as I moved away from the trunk. The sunlight filtered through the thick canopy above, providing a soft light to the forest floor.

Something was glinting at me from beneath one of the larger roots, where I had been laying. Forgetting my situation, I knelt down, clearing away leaves and sticks as I tried to figure out what it was that was almost completely hidden by debris. I leaned closer, careful not to block the light as I attempted to get a better look. My breath caught in my throat for a moment as I realized what I was seeing. A glassy stone, yellow in color, stared back at me, happily glittering with reflected sunlight. It had to be a Chaos Emerald. I picked it up and got back to my feet, wiping it clean with the remains of my shirt.

Was this responsible for what had happened to me? I couldn't see how, but it was a possibility.

I could hear the others calling my name: Amy, Tails, Chris, Sonic, and, to my surprise, Knuckles. I didn't remember seeing him during the battle, so I figured he'd either shown up afterwards, or just been in the area and spotted the X Tornado. At any rate, I was glad to hear his voice. Maybe he could explain what was going on. He was, after all, the Guardian of the Master Emerald. If anyone could explain, he could.

I heard Chris's voice growing nearer, while Tails' and Amy's voices were getting farther away. I couldn't locate Sonic or Knuckles. Apparently, they had all spread out to look for me. At least they were holding out some hope that I wasn't dead – after all, they wouldn't bother to call out to a corpse. I started in the direction of Chris's voice, half-walking, half-stumbling, and started to call out to him. I opened my mouth, but only managed a startled squawk as Knuckles materialized out of the brush in front of me.

He stopped in his tracks (as did I) and stared at me for a long moment. His deep purple eyes traveled up and down my new body, and finally came to a rest on the stone I held. After another moment, he looked up at my face. His intense gaze was slightly unsettling. Finally, he spoke.

"Who the hell are you?"

Well, golly-gee, nice to see you too, Mr. Sunshine. Guess I can't blame him, though. Aside from my shredded clothes and silver belt buckle, I didn't look much like my former self. But for crying out loud, how many people does he know who _wears_ a belt buckle – let alone a belt buckle with 'K.T.' engraved on it? I frowned, and decided to voice some of my thoughts.

"Hello to you too, Knuckles."

He stared blankly. Time to be straightforward.

"It's me, Knuckles. Ki." I pointed to my belt buckle with my empty hand. I had an absurd flashback to a comedy skit about rednecks: _'If someone asks to see your I.D. and you show 'em your belt buckle...'_

"Ki...?"

"Thorndyke. Chris's cousin. The human girl with the braids. You remember to turn your brain on this morning?"

Knuckles continued to stare, comprehension slowly dawning. His eyes widened, just slightly. "Ki? But– how..." He trailed off and took a few more steps toward me, eyeing the gash across my chest. "You're wounded."

"No shit, Sherlock." I responded without thinking. "You'd be wounded too if you'd just fallen several hundred feet."

"I'd glide." Good old Knuckles. Sheez.

"Excuse me for being born human."

"Calm down, I didn't mean it like that." He turned away from me and cupped his hands around his mouth. I thought he was taking this rather well. "I FOUND HER!'" Ouch. My hearing was much sharper than it had been, and he was _loud_.

"Thank you. I always wanted to know what it was like to have my ears bleed." He turned back toward me, staring again, and clearly still having some trouble believing his eyes. I could hear brush rustling nearby; the others were making their way toward us.

"Knuckles? Where are you guys? Is she okay?" It was Chris. He was still a pretty good distance away, but he was closer than he had been. I wondered how my cousin would react when he saw what had become of me.

Knuckles didn't bother to turn around this time, instead calling over his shoulder, "Over here!"

His eyes settled on my chest again, and he reached out a gloved paw to move my shirt out of the way so he could get a better look. I flinched and took a step backward. He sighed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to see how bad that is. Let me see." His voice was gentler than I'd ever heard it, but still firm. He took a step forward and took hold of my shirt, pulling it back. I noted that I was looking Knuckles almost directly in the eyes instead of looking down at him. In fact, I seemed to be an inch or two shorter than him. It felt very strange.

His expression was hard to read as he inspected the scarlet-soaked mess my chest had become. He raised an eyebrow, running his eyes over my chest, arms, neck, and face. "You shouldn't be walking." He finally stated, letting go of my shirt as someone approached. It was Chris, who was followed shortly by Tails and Amy. A moment later, Sonic appeared from the other side.

They all gawked at me. Sonic managed to find his voice first.

"Who's that?"

I made eye contact with my cousin, and recognition hit him like a brick. "**_KI_**??" Chris ran forward, stopping a couple of feet from me. "Ki...? I-is that you?" I nodded. Amy gasped. Tails and Sonic continued to gape. "But how? What happened?"

I shook my head. How was I supposed to know? I had been unconscious. I held the emerald out to Tails. "Happy birthday, kid."

The fox stepped forward hesitantly, but his eyes lit up when he realized what I was holding. "Where'd you find it?" I pointed towards the tree I'd woken up beneath. "Over there. Where I landed."

Tails shook his head. "I wonder... So... you don't know what happened?"

I shook my head again. Might as well try to explain. They obviously weren't going to let me get away with staying quiet. "No. I think I blacked out on the way down. I remember starting to fall... I remember being on the ground... I dunno, it's blurry. I woke up on the ground and heard the X Tornado, so I got up. Except I wasn't... _me_, anymore." I shrugged.

Forget Knuckles, _I_ was taking this rather well.

Tails looked at Knuckles, who was watching me carefully, as if expecting me to keel over at any second. "Knuckles... you don't think...? I mean, can Chaos Control do something like this?"

Knuckles shook his head, never taking his eyes off me. He was starting to get on my nerves. "I don't know, Tails. I wouldn't have thought so, but... I can't think of another explanation. You'd better put some pressure on that cut. It's deep, and it's still bleeding." I blinked. He'd switched tracks from Tails to me so seamlessly that I hadn't even realized that he was addressing me.

"Huh?" Oh yeah, there's an intellectual response. He repeated himself patiently.

"Your eye doesn't look that great either... or your arm... hell, Ki, you look like you've been run through a food processor. Put pressure on your chest. It's still bleeding. A lot. Or did you _want_ to bleed to death?"

"Oh." More intelligent conversation. Good grief. Really, I could do better than that. "Um, with what? I don't exactly have a first aid kit handy, you know." And now I'm rambling. Peachy.

"Use your shirt. Not as if it's doing you much good like that anyway." Wait a minute– what did he just say? Ooooh, oh, no. No way, mister.

"I am _not_ taking my shirt off."

"It's still a long flight home."

"I am **_NOT _**taking my _shirt_ off," I repeated. A corner of Knuckles' mouth twitched, and I suddenly felt as if my stomach were full of lead. I could see him thinking, behind those dark eyes of his. Calculating. He was planning something, and he knew I wasn't going to like it. _I_ knew I wasn't going to like it. I took an instinctive step backward, and he took that as his cue. Eliminating the distance between us in a heartbeat, Knuckles seized my shirt in both his hands and tugged, tearing the last few buttons off and ripping the material until it was all the way open. I stumbled backwards, but abruptly found myself backed up against a tree trunk. Ignoring my struggles and shouts of protest, Amy's mortified shriek, as well as the triple sound of Sonic, Chris and Tails all indignantly shouting his name, he continued pulling at my shirt.

Not ten seconds later, he'd wrestled it off me completely, and pressed it firmly against my bloody chest. My heart pounded, increasing the amount of blood flowing from my wounds, and my face was burning. I found it hard to believe that I had enough blood left in me to continue standing, let alone to blush as furiously as I was. I felt slightly dizzy.

Knuckles took a step backward, his breathing only slightly heavier than normal. "Like I said. _Use your shirt. _And put your gloves on; you look ridiculous without them."

He turned back around to face the others, all of whom were staring at him in shock. Amy had covered her eyes, but was peeking between her fingers. Chris looked angry, defensive of me, and Sonic looked like he couldn't decide whether or not to yell at Knuckles. Tails merely goggled at him in disbelief.

I tugged the gloves back on awkwardly, struggling to fit them properly over my spikes while simultaneously endeavoring to hold my shirt against my wound. It wasn't easy, especially since my right arm seemed a bit reluctant to follow orders.

I felt very self-conscious. I was shirtless, in front of most of my friends. And there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. I wanted to kill Knuckles. I shot a dirty look at the back of his head. As if he could feel my glare, he spoke.

"I don't know why you're all so worked up."

This seemed to snap Tails out of his trance. He frowned. "Knuckles, its one thing if a girl _chooses_ not to wear clothes, but when a girl _does_ wear clothes, you can't just– _do_ that. An-And besides, she's human! Humans don't really consider clothing to be... y'know, _optional_, like we do."

I could hear the smirk in Knuckles' voice. I made a mental note to hurt him after I'd recovered. Badly.

"Tails, she's not human. Not anymore. She doesn't have any more to hide than you or I do. She's an _echidna_. Not a human. There's a big difference. I thought you were a genius, kid. Or did you sleep through your basic biology lessons?"

Knuckles' voice had been more teasing than cruel, but Tails still blushed. "I-I– no, of course not, but–"

"Forget it, kid. I know you're smart. Look, she needs to be taken home. Now. We can grill her for more details later."

Sonic had been strangely quite during all of this. He finally spoke up, nodding. "Knuckles is right. We should go." He started to turn in the direction they'd left the plane in, and the others slowly turned to follow. Chris hung back, looking at me with a worried expression on his face. I managed to summon a small smile, and he smiled back. Somewhat reassured, he turned and followed the others.

Clutching my ruined shirt to my chest, I took a few steps forward, only to find a spike-adorned hand clamping down on my shoulder. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Knuckles' violet gaze was on me again, this time looking me straight in the eyes. I shoved at the glove gripping my shoulder. His hand didn't budge.

"What are you talking about? I'm going back to the plane. What the hell do you think _you're_ doing?"

"I told you, you shouldn't be walking."

"And how _else_ am I supposed to get home?"

He looked at me for a long moment. I was beginning to feel like a carnival sideshow. Then, without warning, he bent down and picked me up. "_What the HELL do you think YOU'RE **DOING**??_" I shouted. The sudden change from vertical to horizontal was making me dizzy again. I kicked my legs and pummeled him with my fists, careful not to hit him with my spikes. I wanted to hurt him, not maim him.

There's a weird habit I developed in elementary school. I growl. I mean, I literally growl. I think it started when I was obsessed with the some cartoon. At any rate, it started more as a joke, turned into a weird phase, then moved on to a well-ingrained habit. I growl when I'm irritated, I growl when I'm angry.

I growled when Knuckles refused to put me down. Only thing is, it came out differently than usual. This wasn't a human imitation of a growl – this was a legitimate growl, sounding like something between a canine growl and a feline growl. It startled me somewhat, but nothing could have prepared me for Knuckles' response.

He growled back.

In fact, he didn't just growl, he bared his teeth and bent his face down so that his nose was literally touching mine. His growl was a far more guttural, vicious sound than mine had been. He meant business. I shrunk back as far as I could in his arms, my eyes wide. He straightened back up, but kept his eyes locked with mine for what felt like an eternity. The guy has really intense eyes. Kind of creepy, actually.

I realized I'd stopped struggling. I didn't dare start again. I don't know if he found my reaction to his warning amusing, or if he was simply pleased with himself, but when he finally broke eye contact and closed his mouth, he was smiling slightly.

Yes, I was definitely going to have to hurt him later. But for now... I was getting tired. I leaned my head against his shoulder in resignation, returning my hands to where they had been holding my shirt against my chest. Despite my growing lethargy, and the fact that it was actually very comfortable in Knuckles' arms, I refused to fall asleep. I absolutely refused to be any more at this guy's mercy than I already was.

Which really sucked, because now that the adrenaline was wearing off, I was getting tired.

"Bully," I muttered. His smile widened a bit. "You're about as subtle as a cinder block through a plate glass window, you know that?" He smirked; I sulked. He was going to wind up in traction once I got my hands on him...

After a while, a good fifteen minutes of steady walking, the trees thinned out and I could see the X Cyclone a short distance away. Apparently, there hadn't been enough room for Tails to land the thing in 'Tornado' mode. I wondered how Knuckles expected me to get into the cockpit. I mean, if he wouldn't allow me to walk, I couldn't see how he'd let me get away with climbing.

By the time we reached the plane, the others had already gotten in, and Sonic perched on the nose cone, as usual, an impatient look on his face. I still can't figure out how he keeps his balance so easily. Lots of practice, I guess. Knuckles set me down gently and leapt up onto one of the lowered wings. Hanging on to the plane with one hand, he offered the other to me. Wonderful. As if I wasn't already dizzy. I sighed and reached up for his hand (trying not to think about the bloodstains being transferred from my filthy gloves to his near-flawless ones), using my free one to hold my shirt in place. He pulled me up easily and helped me into the back compartment. I settled into the seat as he pulled the straps around me and buckled them in place.

For as much of a jackass as the guy can be, he sure was being nice now. I don't think I'll ever figure that guy out.

As the hatch closed above me, something occurred to me. "Amy. Where's my hat?"

Amy had been watching from around the side of her seat, but she seemed wholly surprised when I addressed her. "Huh?" Well, at least I wasn't the only one being overly eloquent today.

"My hat, Amy. You know, the black felt number I handed you before I climbed out of the plane earlier? The thing I told you to guard with your _life_?"

Well, duh. "Oh, that! It's right here!" She handed it back (then continued to stare at me), and I took it gratefully, carefully examining it for any damage. If I'm obsessive about anything, it's my hat. Relieved to see it was in as good a condition as I'd left it, I set it carefully by my feet – I didn't dare put it on my lap given the... _messy_ condition I was in – and leaned my head back.

...And I found Knuckles still watching me through the glass of the hatch. On impulse, I stuck my tongue out at him.

He grinned – he actually _grinned_! – and walked forward, stopping between the two passenger compartments of the plane. Apparently, he was going to pull a Sonic move and ride on top of the plane. I guess he didn't really have much choice, though, unless he wanted to stay behind, and he clearly didn't. There was, after all, only room for four inside the plane, and there were six of us there. I closed my eyes as the X Tornado took to the sky, and spent the flight – it really wasn't all that long, maybe fifteen minutes – drifting in and out of sleep. All too soon, I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes to find not Knuckles, but Sonic staring down at me.

"Home sweet home!" He tried to smile, but it wasn't very convincing. Understandable. One of his best friends had suddenly changed species. I'd be pretty weirded out too. But there was something else as well. He looked almost... guilty. What on earth did he have to feel guilty about? I mean, he'd just saved the world for the fifty-two _billionth_ time. Sonic was being almost as weird as Knuckles _always_ was...

He helped me out of my straps – I noted that someone was going to have to give them a good scrubbing later, because they were stained with my blood... in fact, so were my gloves... and Sonic's gloves, and Knuckles' gloves... God, I was making a mess – and offered me his hand. Donning my hat (it still fit, to my great relief), I took his hand and tried to climb up out of the cockpit. After my second attempt to step up onto the rim of the hatch, Sonic frowned and reached down with his other hand, pulling me out of the compartment. Then he picked me up, much as Knuckles had, and leapt effortlessly to the ground. I didn't even attempt to fight him, letting him carry me into the house. He set me down on the couch (someone had thought to throw down a heavy sheet first so the couch wouldn't be stained), but my... I dunno, _stubbornness,_ I guess, finally kicked back into gear, and I sat up, then stood. Somehow, incredibly, I had another surge of energy. It was sort of like when you stay up really late, then find that you're completely wide awake at four in the morning even though you haven't slept. Only difference was, the pain from in my chest, not to mention just about every other part of my body, was increasing.

"Ki, I really don't think you should... Ki, sit down... You look like you're gonna faint... Please...?"

I hate that word, 'faint'. Sounds all little-girl-prissy. Yuck. I prefer 'pass out' or 'black out'. 'Faint' makes me feel like a pink-clad damsel in distress. Amy's my friend, but I've no desire to be like her. Bleh.

Sonic continued to plead with me, stuck between not wanting to order me around, and trying to protect me at the same time. I told him point blank to fuck off. Poor guy. I didn't mean it. I just hate being in pain and hate looking – and feeling – weak.

The others filtered into the room behind us: Tails, followed by Chris, and then Knuckles. I noticed now that the latter had a good deal of my blood – it was just slightly darker than his fur – on his chest and arms from carrying me. Sonic's fur was stained as well, but not as badly. I heard Cream's voice in the hall, and Amy. Evidently, Amy was trying to keep Cream out of the room until I'd been patched up. I had to appreciate that. Poor little kid sure as heck didn't need to see me like this. She'd seen enough in her six and a half – and she'd declared to me the other day that she was _exactly _six and one half – years. I didn't want to add to her nightmares.

Tails approached me with a white box that was stamped with a bold red plus sign – the first aid kit. He asked me to sit down. I told him exactly what I'd told Sonic. In retrospect, I regret it – he's only eight years old, after all – but as they say, hindsight is always 20/20. He blinked at me in surprise – I hardly ever use that kind of language, and certainly not towards him – and with a sigh, repeated his request. So I repeated my sophisticated statement, a bit more forcefully, and pushed past him to stand at the window.

It was twilight by this point, so I could see the room reflected relatively clearly in the glass. All four boys exchanged glances. I couldn't quite make out their expressions, but I didn't care. I was in pain, and I was going to be damned if I was going to let anyone near me with anything that was going to cause more pain. Like antiseptic, for instance. I stared out the window, watching Amy, Cream, and Cheese chase after the half-dozen or so fireflies that were flitting around the darkening yard. At least Amy was keeping them busy. Occasionally I felt a drip of blood ooze down somewhere on my body, but like the pain and faint dizziness, I ignored it.

I heard a shout of surprise come from the doorway, and turned, lazily, to see Ella, Tanaka, and Grandpa gawping at me. Like I needed more of this. Dismissing them, I turned back to the window. I was feeling particularly standoffish, and if I'd had more energy, I would have left the room and locked myself in my bedroom. But I wasn't up to scaling the immense staircase, and at any rate, someone would doubtless catch me before I even got out of the room, so I stayed where I was.

Tails approached me again, cautiously. "K-Ki? Please... that really should be taken care of... so should the other cuts..." I was covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises, and even a burn, both from the battle and from my fall through the trees. Of course, the smaller injuries had been largely ignored in favor of my chest wound and spontaneous species conversion. I continued to ignore Tails, along with my injuries and everyone else in the room.

I mildly noted that I was no longer holding my shirt up to my chest, but the bleeding seemed to have slowed somewhat, so I decided not to worry about it. Ella approached me now, standing to my left. Tails stood at my right, and I was starting to feel crowded. Ella set a hand on my shoulder. "Ki... Sweetheart, are you– are you alright?" Now what the hell kind of question was that? Of course I wasn't all right. Anyone could see that. "Ki...? Kianna?"

And the mistake was made. Using my full first name never went over real well, and the way I was feeling now, it was simply a dangerous thing to do. I snarled and shoved her hand away. "For the two hundredth time. My. Name. Is._ Ki_. And don't friggin' touch me. Any of you," I added, mostly for Tails' benefit.

I could see Ella's face perfectly reflected in the window. She looked hurt, but didn't say anything more. For several minutes, no one said anything at all. Nobody moved; nobody dared approach me. I continued to glower at the window. I wasn't really seeing it, now, or what was beyond. I wasn't seeing anything. I was too busy thinking about the day's events. If only I hadn't had to play the hero...


	2. Memory n1: Definitely NOT a Good

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary**  
**Chapter II: Memory Number One: Definitely NOT a Good Day to Die**

The crew of the X Tornado was in pandemonium. Tails pulled the plane up hard, avoiding yet another missile, then noticed something as he turned back around toward the Eggfort.

"_Sonic!!_"

"What? What's wrong?"

"He's been hit!!"

"_What_?? What are you talking about? Is he all right?"  
"I don't know! He's not moving!!"

"_Geeziz_, he's a sitting duck down there!!"

"He'll be killed!!"

"If he's not dead already!!"

"Don't say that!!"

"We gotta do something!!"  
"Like _what_??"

"Somebody's gotta go out there!!"

"Yeah, right, _who_??"

The hatch of the rear cockpit was already opening, as if in answer to Chris' question. Ki reached around Amy's seat and pressed her black cowboy hat to the pink hedgehog's chest.

"Hang on to that for me, will you?"  
Amy screeched, suddenly realizing what her human friend was about to do.

"What are you _DOING_?!? Are you _nuts_??"

Ki didn't answer, instead reiterating her request.

"Guard that with your life, hedgehog! I'll be back for it!!"

Pulling a couple of the precious golden rings out of the compartment at her side, Ki unbuckled the seat restraints and slowly stood up. She could hear the boy's voices filtering back to her via the intercom as she climbed carefully past Amy to the front of the cockpit. Their voices sounded tinny, and far away, despite the fact that they were only a few feet from her. Both sounded panicked. Ki took a deep breath, clutching the edge of the compartment and bracing herself against the wind that was now whipping her braids furiously about her face. Amy was tugging at Ki's jeans, begging her to get back into her seat. Ki yelled back at the intercom, struggling to be heard over the din.

"Tails, circle back over the Eggfort!"

More shouts of protest. She didn't listen. She'd already made up her mind. There was no way she was going to let him die out there when she could do something about it.

"Somebody's got to go out there!!" She shouted, nearly screaming in the effort to be heard. "I'm the oldest, and I'm the only other person who's ever been out there during flight!! I'm the best qualified for the job, and you all know it!! Don't worry about me!!" She shoved at one of Amy's hands, trying to free her leg. "Amy, leggo o'me before you make me fall!!"

"KI, ARE YOU **_CRAZY_**??"  
"Do me a favor, Chris!! Ask me that when I'm _not_ climbing out of a moving jet at two-thousand feet!!"

She looked down at Amy one more time, then across the plane at her other two friends. She wondered, fleetingly, if this would be the last time she'd ever see them. She pushed the thought aside. _'Don't think about that now. It'll only make you lose your nerve. You can't lose your nerve. Sonic's life depends on you. And if Sonic dies, Eggman could win. That can**not**_ _happen. And Sonic... No, I won't leave Sonic down there.'_

They were still screaming at her.

"Ki, _please_, don't do this!! You'll be killed!!" Chris.

"Ki, it's too dangerous!!" Tails.

"Ki, _please-please-please_ get back in your seat!!" Amy.

She shouted down into the cockpit, both at Amy and at the intercom so the others could hear her.

"There's no other way!! You all know it, and I know it!! Sonic can't catch a ring if he's unconscious!! Someone has to go down there!! There's just no other way!!"

She shoved the rings into her pocket so she wouldn't accidentally drop them, then, ignoring the alarm klaxon issuing from the cockpit, and Amy's frantic admonitions to get back into the plane, Kianna Thorndyke hauled herself, painfully slowly, oh-so-carefully, out of the cockpit. She finally managed to pull her leg free of Amy's grasp, but the sudden force nearly caused her to slip over the side of the plane. Gripping at the rim of the hatch as best she could while keeping her fingers out of the way, she reached in one last time and jabbed the button that would close the hatch, again telling Amy and the others not to worry about her. She watched the glass dome click into place, effectively muffling what little she could still hear of her friends' shouts over the roaring wind. She was sealed off from the safety of the inside of the plane. There was no turning back now. It was too late to change her mind.

She wouldn't change her mind. She couldn't. She couldn't leave Sonic down there, helpless to defend himself.

She'd never been more pleased to be wearing sneakers instead of her usual cowboy boots. The sticky rubber soles provided a much better grip of the X Tornado's surface than the slick leather soles of her boots would have. In her boots, she wouldn't have stood a chance. As it was, moving was still incredibly difficult at this speed.

One slip of her foot, one failed grip, and it would all be over.

'_No. Don't think about that. Just think about what you have to do_.'

Sonic made it look so easy.

But then, he was used to gale-force winds – he experienced them every time he ran.

Ki climbed around the cockpit, gripping at anything that she could reach. Left hand. Right hand. Left foot. Right foot. One at a time. '_You can't afford to go too quickly. You'll slip. You can't afford to take too long. Sonic's in danger. Without Sonic, the whole planet's in danger.'_

It hadn't seemed this difficult before, with Sonic holding her hand. It hadn't been nearly as frightening. But now she was alone. If she slipped, there was no one to catch her. Funny how someone so much smaller than herself could provide such a feeling of safety.

She fought against the wind, climbing away from the cockpit towards the wings. She was nearly there. A few more inches... Just a little ways... Climb down to the lower wing... She didn't dare try to climb forward and jump from in front of the wings, for fear of being struck by one on the way down. Sonic always made it, but Sonic was much better at timing that sort of thing. If she climbed down to the lower wing (while hanging onto the upper), she should be able to jump free and clear of the plane. Assuming she didn't _fall_ first.

As if on cue, her left hand lost its grip on the edge of the wing, and only some very quick reacting kept her from falling.

'_Oh, Lord Above, it's a long freaking way down_...' Her heart pounded against her ribcage, as if trying to escape her chest.

She wiped her sweating hand on her shirt and regained her grip.

Slowly...

She clung to the plane, her arms wrapped as far around the wing as she could manage, and gathered her courage.

She had to climb down to the lower wing. If she jumped from this high up, she could be struck by the engines on the way down. Or worse, fried alive by the flaming exhaust.

'Oh God_, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna _fall_, and I'm gonna die..._

_ 'No. You're going to be fine. Sonic needs you. Sonic. That's it, think about Sonic. Don't think about the height, don't think about the engines, just think about Sonic. _

_ 'I am SO not cut out for this hero stuff...'_

With a white-knuckled grip on the wing, she reached one foot down to where the lower wing joined the body of the plane. For a moment, she thought she was going to slip completely, but then her foot hit metal. Still clinging to the upper wing, she lowered her other foot, until she was finally standing, precariously, on the wing. The wind continued to beat against her, as if determined to make her fall.

It was nearly time to jump. She forced herself to look down, and saw the Eggfort coming closer. It appeared that Tails had decided that, failing to keep her inside the plane, the next best thing he could do would be to work with her. She spotted Sonic's still-immobile form. Eggman hadn't figured out what was going on yet. Good.

She waited as Tails circled the plane around one more time and came down for a low pass over the Eggfort. She leaned forward, toward the back of the plane, gripping the upper wing with one hand, and freeing her other hand for balance. Her braids whipped around in the wind, striking her sharply in the face. She barely noticed, her whole concentration on the task at hand. She turned her head so she could see the fast-approaching Eggfort.

She had to jump as soon as, if not slightly before, reaching the Eggfort. Even as she felt the X Tornado slow slightly, she knew that at this speed, she'd miss entirely if she waited too long. Tails came in low, less than fifty feet from the surface of the other vehicle. It was a long drop from her perspective, still, but she knew that the kit didn't dare fly any lower while missiles were still flying in every direction.

She bent her knees slightly, rapidly trying to calculate how many seconds she had before she had to jump.

_Four..._

She rearranged her feet, until only her heels were actually resting on the plane.

_Three..._

'_Almost there... get ready...'_

_Two..._

_ 'You've only got one chance to pull this off, don't screw it up...'_

_One..._

"JUMP!!!" She shouted as she released her grip on the strut, launching herself out and away from the X Tornado, toward the Eggfort below...

She'd cleared the plane...

Ki could see Sonic in her peripheral, still motionless...

_40 feet... 30 feet... 20 feet... 10 feet..._

'_Brace yourself...'_

Ki was momentarily stunned by the impact. She'd somehow, miraculously, managed to land on her feet, but the force of her fall had thrown her down against the steel beneath her. She rolled several feet until suddenly, there was nothing beneath her. Instinctively, she grabbed for the surface she'd slipped from, hanging by her fingertips from one of the top engine struts.

She swore loudly and struggled to pull herself up. After an eternity, she managed to get one foot up, and with that leverage, was able to pull her full body back up onto the massive plane. She lay there, panting, for a long moment.

_ 'Oh... My... Wow... I'm alive!! I made it!!'_

**SONIC!!!**'

She leapt to her feet on the relatively horizontal surface of the strut, and edged her way toward the body of the Eggfort. Something was approaching her from her left. She turned her head, and shouted in pain as she felt something sizzle through the skin on her right arm. A laser from some kind of flying robot had caught her. Clapping her hand to the burn, she rotated her shoulder, bent her elbow, wiggled her fingers. Everything seemed to be working okay – just a surface burn. Hurt like hell, though. She straightened back up, narrowing her eyes, and glanced up at the cockpit of the Eggfort.

Even from down here, she could see Eggman making a fool of himself, jumping up and down and screaming.

He'd seen her.

He knew something was wrong.

Shit.

She was out of time. She couldn't afford to take any longer getting to Sonic. And the laser-wielding robot could reappear at any second. She might not be so lucky the second time around. Not even stopping to think about it, she jumped from the strut to the body of the plane, and broke into a flat run, heedless of the very long drop that would await her as reward for even one wrong step. Sonic was on the other side of the cockpit. She ran around behind it, slipped, fell, and jumped back to her feet as if nothing had happened.

There was no time to think.

Just act.

She spotted Sonic, lying along the side of the cockpit. She ran to him, kneeled beside him.

"SONIC!!!"

No response. She shook him.

"Sonic!! _Damn you_, wake up!!"

His eyelids fluttered, but he didn't wake. Desperate, she slapped him, hard. His eyes flew open. Ki permitted herself a sigh of relief. He was going to be okay.

"Wha–?"

"Fight's not over yet, Sonic!! You're sleeping on the job!!"

His eyes widened as he put two and two together.

He'd been on the Eggfort, been distracted by a missile, something had hit him...

And now one of his human friends was hovering over him, telling him to wake up.

He scrambled to his feet.

"How the _hell_ did you get out here, Ki??"

She grinned, fishing something out of her pocket.

"I jumped."

He gawped at her, impressed and horrified at the same time.

"You– you _jumped_??"

"Yup. You didn't leave me much choice. Here."

She pressed two power rings into his hands. He looked at her uncertainly.

"Guess this is one conversation that'll have to wait, but... wait, what about you?" He was eyeing her singed shirtsleeve, knowing she'd been injured.  
"I'm fine, it's not serious! Don't worry about me; just take care of him! I can manage! I just _jumped_ from a _jet_, for God's sake!!"

He looked concerned, but at the same time, he had work to do. "All right – just be careful!!"

He gripped the rings in his hands. Ki always loved watching this, as he absorbed the energy from the rings. It was so cool. Then he flashed past her and was gone. Ki turned her attention to her own problem. Like how in the hell she was going to get back to the X Tornado. It was one thing to _say_ she could take care of herself – it was another thing to actually _do_ it.

The entire Eggfort suddenly shuddered, and Ki was thrown from her feet. The plane turned to the left slightly, tilting her side of the plane downward. She gripped desperately at the smooth skin of the plane, trying not to slip...

The ship righted itself, but something else was happening. Ki felt as if she weighed next to nothing.

'_Oh, dear.'_

The Eggfort was falling, and fast.

She stood up again, annoyance clear on her features, and looked around. Sonic was making fast work of the massive machine. She scooted as close to the edge as she dared and glanced down. The ground was coming up to meet them at a dangerous speed. They'd already lost several hundred feet of altitude, from what she could tell.

And then, as suddenly as it had started, the Eggfort stopped, suspended in midair, less than four hundred feet from the trees below. This time, Ki somehow managed to stay on her feet. At least she was getting the hang of this. Trouble was, she didn't really _want_ to get the hang of it. She wanted to get back inside the X Tornado with her friends, where it was – at least relatively – safe. She looked up and around, but the friendly plane had vanished. Thick black smoke was billowing from the Eggfort now, and the fact that it was still in the air seemed to be a miracle.

But where was Sonic?

She saw a flash of light and heard an explosion, as Sonic tore into the plane again, straight through the lower half of the cockpit.

Ki lost her balance, stumbling backwards several feet as the enormous airship heaved again. She fell, grabbed an engine strut – the opposite one from before – and hung on.

"Where the hell _is_ that fox??"

The Eggfort began to list dangerously; the engine strut she was hanging from was rapidly becoming vertical when it should be horizontal. She started to slip, her hands sliding down the smooth metal. Twisted pieces of steel glinted in the sunlight as they fell to the forest below.

_ 'Okay, no big deal, no big deal, I'll just stand on the engine. I can do this, I can do this, I can-I can-I can...'_

The plane gave one more, incredibly violent lurch, and leveled out yet again.

The strut pulled out of Ki's grasp. She hung there, forever in midair, terror filling her.

She was going to fall.

The plane pulled away, out of reach, taunting her as she plummeted toward the earth below.

Ki heard the X Tornado approaching now, but she knew it was too late. She screamed without realizing it.

**_ "SONIC!!!"_**

She was falling.

_ Suddenly, she was four again, riding on her father's shoulders and begging him to win her a teddy bear at a game booth at the state fair._

_ Then she was seven, waving her black cowboy hat – a gift from her father – and watching with pride as he roped a bull in the local rodeo, achieving the best time._

_ She was ten, holding her father's hand, helpless as his life slipped away, as he drew his final breath._

_ She was twelve, screaming in fury as several police officers caught up with her, forcing her to return to her grandmother's home after she'd run away the day before._

_ She was thirteen, ignoring the school bus and heading in the other direction, planning to run away again – this time from an older cousin's home. She wouldn't make it this time either._

_ She was fourteen, sitting in the principal's office after having told the coach exactly what she thought of him when he'd pointed out, cruelly and in front of the entire history class, that she was an orphan._

_ She was fifteen, meeting her grandfather and cousin for the first time. Meeting Sonic for the first time. Flying in the X Tornado for the first of what would become hundreds of times._

She was three months shy of her sixteenth birthday, falling to her death after quite possibly saving the life of a friend.

She'd never see her friends again.

She'd never see Sonic again.

She heard Sonic call her name, but he was simply too far away to help her.

It was over.

Ki's mind shut down, sparing her from the impending agony.


	3. Willing or Unwilling

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary  
****Chapter III: Willing or Unwilling**

_  
_I shuddered at the memory. I had never in my entire life been as terrified as I had been when I'd lost my grip on the Eggfort. By the way, it's true what they say about a person's life flashing before their eyes right before they die. Events long forgotten, and events you wish you could forget, they all come back to you in those few seconds before eternity. It's not an entirely enjoyable experience, and it's not one I want to repeat for a very, very long time.

I guess I'm lucky that I blacked out after that point, because it was apparent that my fall through the trees had been less than pleasant.

"Ki..." Sonic's voice brought me abruptly back to the present. I didn't turn around. He tried again, speaking quietly, coaxingly. I hadn't known he was capable of such a tone. "Ki, please just come sit down. You're hurt. We'll leave you alone once your wounds are taken care of, ok? Just... just come sit down."

"No." There was no need to say anything more. That one syllable spoke volumes, filling the room. The silence that followed was deafening.

After several more minutes and a few more attempts by others in the room to convince me to cooperate, I heard Knuckles make an annoyed sound. He was losing his patience. When he spoke, it was quietly but forcefully, and I doubt that anyone in the room missed a single syllable.

"KI. GET YOUR YELLOW-FURRED ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW AND _SIT. DOWN_."

I noted that both Ella on my left and Tails on my right turned to face him as he said this. I glared more fiercely at the window. If looks could have killed, the windowpanes would have melted, and the resulting puddles would have evaporated. I matched Knuckles' tone when I replied.

"I SAID _NO_. NOW KINDLY _FUCK. OFF_."

I heard a low rumbling. A quieter echo of Knuckles' earlier warning growl traveled through the room, and I had to fight back a shiver. It was a strangely frightening sound. I stood my ground, though, refusing to give in to him again.

"SIT. DOWN. _NOW." _His last word came out on top of second, louder growl. I curled my hands into fists, fighting against my instinct – that being to do what he said before he ripped me apart, which I was more than certain he was willing to do at this point. I noticed other reactions throughout my body toward my anger, as well. Reactions that were very much _echidna_, and not at all human. I bared my teeth slightly, my fur stood on end, and my tail stiffened. The last was a particularly strange sensation, especially since I hadn't really noticed my tail yet. The result was a stance that very clearly warned all others in the room to _stay away_. Ella and Tails both took several steps back.

Knuckles, on the other hand, was unimpressed. "IF I HAVE TO DRAG YOUR STUBBORN ASS OVER HERE AND HOLD YOU DOWN, YOU ARE _GOING_ TO HAVE THOSE WOUNDS TREATED. NOW SIT. _DOWN_."

I found myself growling back at him, a good bit more threatening than before, now that I knew how. "YOU WOULDN'T DARE."

Now that it was completely dark out, the reflection of the room had become much clearer. I could see Tanaka and Grandpa still standing at the door, watching and trying to decide if they should intervene. Sonic and Chris seemed to be having similar battles where they stood to Knuckles' right. The echidna himself stood with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"TRY ME," he snarled, never raising his voice. I curled my fists tighter. He wanted me to fight. I didn't want to give him that satisfaction, but at the same time, I wasn't about to follow his orders. So I simply stood in front of my window, fantasizing about burying my new spiked fists in that arrogant face.

He took a step toward me, and I flinched, then mentally kicked myself for reacting to him. He took another step, and another. He was now standing barely three feet behind me, his hands flexed at his sides, ready to pounce. "Last chance, Ki."

Without turning my head, I glanced back and forth between Ella and Tails. I had about as much chance of getting out of this as Eggman had of winning the Ms. Teen Universe pageant. But damn it, I wasn't going down without a fight. I bolted, knocking Tails out of my way, and ran for the door on the opposite side of the room.

Knuckles was faster. In all honesty, I pretty much knew he would be, but for some stupid reason I just had to try. He tackled me, slamming me down against the hardwood floor. My chest exploded in agony upon impact, and I screamed so loud that I left my own ears ringing. There was a strange sensation in my tail, and then it too was burning with pain. Knuckles forced me to turn over onto my back, and grabbed my hands. Holding both my wrists in an unyielding grip with one hand, he curled the other into a fist and pressed his spikes against my neck in warning. I kicked and screamed and cursed, my eyes overflowing with tears. Sonic vaulted over the couch, immediately followed by Chris, and they kneeled next to me, trying to decide what to do. Finally, they each grabbed one of my ankles and held tight, keeping me from kicking.

It hurt, and it was degrading, but I just couldn't give in. They couldn't win. _Knuckles_ couldn't win. It wasn't fair. And it hurt so much. They were making it worse. I just wanted them to let go and leave me alone. '_Leave me alone, please just leave me alone...'_

Knuckles pressed his fist more firmly into my throat, the spikes biting painfully into my skin. He wasn't drawing blood, but it wouldn't take much to change that. They held me there, Knuckles occasionally growling threateningly. The others in the room looked on helplessly. There wasn't much they could do, and the fact of the matter was, as far as they were concerned, I needed my wounds treated. If this was the only way, then so be it. I added Sonic, Chris, and the other three humans to my post-recovery hit list. I was most shocked by my cousin's actions. I couldn't believe he was actually helping the other two restrain me.

It wasn't long before my limited energy was drained, and I lay still, panting and sobbing. I saw Tails kneeling to my right, wielding a cloth and a bottle of what was undoubtedly antiseptic. I shook my head in feeble protest. He apologized, then applied the saturated cloth to my chest.

I thought it had hurt when Knuckles had tackled me.

That had been _nothing_.

I arched my back, crying out in pain, and tried in vain to pull free of the three that still held me down. It hurt, _oh God_, _it hurt_. The eight-year-old's name was added to the very top of my list, clear above Knuckles.

I whimpered as the pain flared again – he'd moved the cloth, making sure to reach every bit of the gash with the searing liquid. Eventually the pains became less intense, melting into one another in a steady burning sensation that filled my entire body.

I lay there, utterly helpless, not even moving when Knuckles at last removed his fist from my throat and released my hands. Sonic, seeing that it was safe now to let go of me, turned his attention from my leg to the first aid kit. He stepped over me and sat next to Chris on my other side, opposite Tails, and gave instructions to my cousin as he began tending the burn on my arm. I looked resignedly up at Knuckles. His expression was, unsurprisingly, difficult to read. After a moment, he got up and retrieved the first aid kit from where it lay on the other side of Tails.

Upon returning, he turned my head gently to one side and then the other, noting the many scrapes and cuts on my face. Only now did I notice them myself. Soaking another rag with the bottle of antiseptic, he began dabbing at the cuts, meticulously cleaning the dried blood from my fur as he did so.

The three Mobians knew exactly what they were doing, and it occurred to me that they must have had a lot of experience in treating the wounded. The image of a war-torn planet, occupied by sentient animals and their robotic enemies, flickered through my mind.

They weren't as innocent as they liked to pretend.

Too drained to really move, but far too uncomfortable to sleep, I let my mind wander. I wondered what kind of lives my strange friends had led before Eggman had turned up on their planet. Or had Eggman been around their whole lives? It was hard to imagine growing up in a world like that. I knew from bits and pieces gathered from over three months of conversations with them that there were places still untouched by Eggman's sadism, but those places were becoming fewer and fewer. And even those places, no doubt, had Eggman's shadow over them. I hoped that they had been able to begin recovering, now that Eggman was here.

Knuckles turned my head gently, drawing my attention – rather reluctantly – back to the present. Knuckles is really hard to figure out. The growling and violence from earlier were completely gone, replaced by a... tenderness, I suppose, as he doctored my wounds. What a strange guy.

Knuckles is as multifaceted as the emerald he's responsible for.

Gee, that was poetic. I'd have to remember that one.

_'He's kind of cute, too. ...What?? Where the hell did _that_ come from??'_ Geez, the fur was already getting to my head.

I got the horrible feeling that things were going to get a lot more complicated from this point on.

Knuckles had stopped what he was doing, and was staring at me. I realized, with a blush, that my thoughts had been reflected by my expression. '_Oh please, don't let him realize I think he's cute...'_

"Something wrong?" He asked quietly. I forced my face back into an expression of tired resignation, and then somehow managed a frown. I glanced down at Sonic, Chris, and Tails, the latter of which was still occupied with the main gash on my chest.

"That a trick question?" I muttered. He shook his head and resumed his task. I think he could tell I wasn't being entirely truthful, but he didn't press the matter. After another minute or two, he looked up again, this time turning around and addressing the adults.

"You don't have to stay here, you know. We've got it under control now. She's going to be fine. Physically, at least..." he finished quietly, turning back to me. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to look at him. Didn't want to look at anyone. I wanted them all to go away, my injuries be damned.

I heard Grandpa speak up, for the first time since seeing the 'new me'. "Are-are you sure? Is there anything we can do?"

I couldn't see him, but I know that Knuckles didn't bother to turn toward Grandpa when he replied, because his hands never left my face. "Not really, unless you know how to travel through time or turn her back into a human." Well, at least he was honest. Blunt to a fault, but honest.

Many more minutes passed, with the silence only being broken by the occasional question from Chris or instruction from Sonic. It was taking a long time to patch me up. Evidently, I hadn't fully comprehended the extent of my injuries. I wished they'd let me sit up. The pain in my tail was increasing with every passing minute, and it was spreading into my back and legs.

Eventually, I heard Chris speak up from where he was working on my arm. "Ella?"

"Yes, Master Chris?"

"Um, none of us has eaten yet..."

"Oh, dear... I'd forgotten all about that. I cooked dinner, but it's probably cold by now. I'll go warm it back up for you all, all right?"

"Thank you, Ella."

"Tanaka, your help please."

"Of course." I heard Tanaka follow the housemaid out of the room, their shoes clicking on the hardwood, and then the stone floor.

Grandpa sat on the couch, leaning over the back of it and peering down at the five of us on the floor. I opened my eyes just slightly to look at him as he started speaking again. He spoke softly, as if he thought I wouldn't be able to hear him if he were quiet enough.

"Do you–do you think it's permanent?"

Knuckles looked up, sitting back on his heels. "I really don't know. She could be back to normal tomorrow, or she could be an echidna for the rest of her life. I've never heard of anything like this happening before. I can't give you an answer."

My brain was starting to feel foggy – my exhaustion – and the pain – was catching up with me again, and I had a feeling that this time there would be no fighting it. But my tail was really bothering me, and I as much as I would have liked to ignore it, I just couldn't. It simply hurt too much. I summoned as much energy as I could and tried to push myself up into a sitting position. I don't think I would have made it, even if I hadn't instantly found four pairs of hands pushing me back down. Sonic frowned at me. "We're not done."

Grandpa looked down at me and added, "You're not going anywhere until they're finished treating you. And when you _do_ go somewhere, it's going to be straight up the stairs and into bed. Understand?" Oh, so _now_ he's going to be stern. Where was he when he should have been making me stay safe at home?

I scowled as Knuckles pushed my shoulders down against the floor. Then I blinked. And blinked again. His face was shifting in and out of focus. Clearly not a good sign...

"I'm not trying to go anywhere," I protested. My voice was quiet, pained, and it took an effort to raise it above a whisper. "I..." Deep breath, concentrate... "Um. I just wanted to... er... I wanted t'move my tail. It's, um... it hurts." I felt five pairs of eyes staring at me. I blinked hard, trying to clear my head. "A lot," I added, feeling my cheeks tinge red. I was met with several smiles and a snort from Knuckles, as all finally understood what I was trying to explain.

Knuckles helped me sit up. My tail was no longer squashed but my chest hurt worse in this position, and so did my head. The room started spinning and Knuckles, noticing the color drain from my face, pulled me back slightly, allowing me to lean back against him for support. "Ow..." Trying to ignore the fact that the room seemed to be moving, I tilted my head back slightly, looking up into his face. I blinked again, fighting off the befuddlement that was trying to fill my skull. It was much the same sensation as one experiences after having been up for way too long, after the second, third, and fourth winds wear off. I was growing dizzy, and my head felt as if it were being stuffed with cotton.

Knuckles looked down at me expectantly. That's right, I was going to say something. Crap. What was it again? Oh, yeah...

"I have a... a weird question." I managed, rather weakly. Speaking clearly was a chore.

He raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."

I swallowed, and squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, I found that the room had settled slightly, at least for the moment. I swallowed again. It was a very strange question. But I had to ask.

"Is it possible t'sprain your tail?"

Well I'm so glad they all found it so funny. I didn't. Embarrassing, maybe, but not funny. I felt my face darken again. Clearly trying not to smirk at my predicament, Knuckles pushed me back up a bit, until I was sitting under my own power, then took hold of my tail in both his hands, examining it. He made a strange sound in his throat, a sound that very much concerned me. "Hold still."

"...Hold still? What? What are you...?"

Confused, I looked between Chris, Grandpa, Sonic, and Tails, all of which were wearing rather horrified expressions. Sonic's hand slid into mine, as if to comfort me. Suddenly what was happening clicked in my head.

_ 'Oh my God, wait–**don't**!!!'_

My thoughts were shattered as I felt Knuckles' hands tighten around my tail. I felt a jerk, a pop, and a sharp pain shoot up my spine, starting at about the center of my tail. I gasped in pain and lost my balance, falling back against Knuckles. He caught me, scooted closer, carefully avoiding my tail, and allowed me to lean back against him again, sitting almost upright. I blinked up at him through a fresh surge of tears. He was frowning.

"It's broken. I had to put the bones back in place." I closed my eyes, trying to tune out the fresh agony my tail was causing me and clutching Sonic's hand as if my life depended on it. He squeezed my hand back, and it's a good thing he did, or I might have broken his fingers.

This was just wonderful. Just perfect.

I was an echidna.

I was no longer human, and very possibly never would be again.

Any chance I had had before of even a remotely normal life was gone.

I had fur.

I had quills.

I was an _echidna_.

I had frickin' _horns_ growing out of my _hands_.

I had a huge gash on my chest.

I'd lost heaven-only-knew how much blood.

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the living room beginning to shift around me.

I was covered in cuts and bruises because I'd fallen several hundred feet from an ever-loving _air fortress_, and somehow survived.

After _jumping_ out of a _moving_ _jet_.

I was being forced to endure further pain as those wounds were treated.

I was an _echidna_.

I had a tail.

Which was _broken._

The pain was simply unbearable. And the room was moving.

I opened my eyes again, and found that I could no longer focus on Knuckles' face. "Wh-why's th'room movin'?" I murmured, my accent becoming thicker as my brain inched towards oblivion. Knuckles carefully laid me down on my side, mindful of my injured tail, then leaned over me, waving a hand slowly in front of my face. I wished he'd wouldn't. The room was already shifting enough. If I'd had the energy, I probably would have thrown up. As it was, I lay there and struggled to focus on the large white blur that was his hand. He placed the glove he had been waving in front of me against the side of my face. His hand was oddly reassuring, as it was now the only thing in the room that _wasn't_ moving violently.

"It's okay." I heard him say. "You can go to sleep."

_ 'It's... okay... to... to go to... sleep...'_


	4. Memory n2: A New Home and Rather

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

**Chapter Note:** In this continuum, Chuck has two sons – Norman, Chris's father, and Robert, Ki's father.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary**  
**Chapter IV: Memory n.2: A New Home and Rather Unusual New Friends**

_  
_An energetic older man approached her hesitantly, holding a sign on which the name 'Kianna Thorndyke' was scrawled. A boy a few years younger than her, with slightly messy brown hair, walked a few steps behind him.

"Excuse me, young lady, you wouldn't happen to be Kianna Thorndyke, would you?"  
She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'm Ki. Who– ...Grandpa?" She finished, hopefully.

He grinned and dropped the sign, throwing his arms around her. "Kianna!" Ki's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden affection, but her smile broadened, and she put her free hand around the man's shoulders. She liked him already. The boy hung back, somewhat embarrassed by the small scene the man was creating. Ki couldn't have cared less.

Charles Thorndyke pulled away, holding his granddaughter at arm's length so as to get a good look at her. Ki straightened her black cowboy hat, which had been knocked askew by Chuck's enthusiastic bear hug. "You're all grown up. I never even knew Melanie was expecting..." His smile faded, and he dropped his gaze. "I should have tried to contact Bobby... I never should have waited as long as I did... I just... always assumed we'd have more time... The child's not supposed to die before the parent, you know..." He looked up again, his eyes damp. "But at least I have you. I can still get to know my granddaughter." He smiled sadly, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

Ki blinked back tears of her own. Her grandfather really regretted the argument that had created such a rift between him and his oldest son. She decided to set the record straight right from the start.

"Grandpa... I don't blame you, you know... And Dad, he never spoke badly of you. He loved you, even if he couldn't bring himself to admit he was wrong..."

"We were both wrong, and I was an old fool not to realize it. But that's in the past now." He grinned suddenly, clearly not wanting to dwell on bad memories. He stepped back and put an arm on the boy's shoulder. "This is Chris, your cousin. Chris, this is Kianna."

Ki interjected before anyone could speak again: "Please, call me Ki. I don't like 'Kianna'. Never have."

Chuck blinked, but then nodded. "Ki it is then. Well then, Chris, what are you waiting for? Say hello to your cousin!"

The girl grinned as Chris finally managed to say what he'd been trying to get out for a good while now. Poor kid kept getting cut off. "Hi, Cousin Ki! This is really cool, you know? It'll be kinda like having a big sister, with you living with us!"  
She laughed at his enthusiasm. "Truth-be-told, _Cousin_ Chris–" He had addressed her so formally! How cute! "–I've been looking forward to having a 'little brother'. I never liked being an only child, anyway." They stood silently for a moment, neither exactly sure of what else to say. Ki finally stepped forward and threw an arm around her cousin. Despite the fact that she was three years older, they were nearly the same height. "I don't have cooties, I promise." He hugged her back somewhat awkwardly, his cheeks tingeing red.

Chuck laughed. "Well, come on you too, Tanaka's waiting with the car."

"What's a Tanaka?" Ki queried as she switched her battered duffel bag to the other hand and followed her grandfather towards the parking lot.

"Mr. Tanaka's our butler." Chris answered. The teenager dropped her bag.

"Butler?? You have a _butler_??"

Chuck smiled back at her. He was enjoying her reaction. "Correction: _We_ – that means you, too – have a butler. And a maid, in fact. You'll meet Ella at home."

Ki's mouth hung open. A butler. And a maid. Good gravy. She didn't know much about her dad's family, but this was ridiculous. She picked up her bag.

"Geez, all we need now is a limo and I'll feel like movie star." She could have sworn she heard Chris laugh, but when she turned her head to look at him, he was casually examining the floor tiles, his hands in his pockets.

Chuck glanced back at her as they neared the door, and stopped as if he'd just thought of something. He eyed her beat-up bag. "Is that all you have?"

Ki nodded timidly. "Uh, yeah, y'know, when you move around as much as I do, you kinda have to learn to travel light."

He frowned briefly, then grinned. "Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we? Norman set up an account for you, complete with debit card – and provided you can be responsible with it, an unlimited balance." Ki choked, and he chuckled. "Yep, in a few weeks, you'll need a bag _that_ size to go on vacation!"

She glanced down at her bag and then back up at him, incredulous. "I can't even imagine needing that much stuff..."

They walked down the steps and out the door of the terminal. Much to Ki's confusion, they stopped at the curb. She started to ask what they were waiting for when a gold limousine – complete with tailfins – pulled up in front of them. She goggled at the car as a sophisticated-looking Asian man in a suit stepped out and onto the curb, then opened the door for her.

Chuck nudged her, his eyes twinkling. "Ladies first."

She stared, bewildered, at the limo, then at the butler, than back at her Grandfather and cousin. This had to be some kind of joke.

Chuck prodded her again. "Go on, it won't bite. We're holding up traffic."

She glanced past the rear of the car, and there was indeed a lengthy line of vehicles forming behind it. Ki stepped forward and got into the car, feeling very out of place, and slid over so her cousin and grandfather could get in. She buckled her seatbelt automatically, then proceeded to gape at the interior of the expensive vehicle.

"Feel like a movie star yet?" She turned to find Chris grinning at her. She nodded, understandably speechless.

Two days ago, she had been scrubbing dishes at the chipped enamel sink in the absurdly small kitchen of her aunt's trailer-home. The singlewide was twenty years old, and it looked it. She had been so excited to leave the place that she had actually run down the short sidewalk out to the waiting taxicab, barely stopping to wave goodbye to her aunt. She'd never much liked the woman anyway. She was rude, she dressed like a hooker, and there always one of her hick boyfriends hanging around. And she made Ki do all the household chores, insisting that such work 'built character.' In reality, she was just too busy finding a date to do any of the work herself. It wasn't that Ki minded doing her share of the housework, but she resented being forced to do _all_ of it.

And now she was sitting in a freaking _limousine_. With the family _butler_ behind the wheel. And she was going to meet the family's _maid_ when they got home.

"Wow." She finally managed, after they'd left the airport and pulled onto the highway. "_Wow._ This is– _wow."_

Chuck and Chris both laughed at her reaction. Even the butler was smiling back at her via the rearview mirror.

This was absolutely _beyond_ cool.

An hour and a half later – they'd hit a traffic jam, not that Ki minded, being in a limousine and all – they pulled into a driveway, pausing at the wrought iron gates that crossed it. Again, Ki found herself staring in awe. Through the gates, she could see a _huge_ house. No, not a house, she corrected herself.

A _mansion._

A genuine mansion.

If this was a joke, it was a very cruel one.

But it was no joke. The gates swung open to accept them, and swung closed again behind them automatically. The butler pulled the car up to the side of the enormous porch, the passenger side of the car facing the steps. In this case, the passenger side was on the left, as the limo was apparently an import, the steering wheel being on the right side, the opposite of what Ki considered 'normal'. Tanaka got out and walked around the car, then opened her door. Ki found herself getting out first, just as she'd gotten in first.

No one had ever opened a car door for her. Or too many other doors, for that matter. It was weird. She pulled her luggage out behind her and stepped away so she wasn't blocking the door. Tanaka held a hand out for her duffel bag. "I'll take your things up to your room for you."

Ki stared at him. "Um... okay..." She held out her lone bag. Tanaka smiled and took it from her, then led them up the stone steps to the front door. Again, he opened the door for her. She walked past him, staring openmouthed at the huge staircase, the marble floors, the vaulted ceiling. The place seemed even bigger from the inside. She heard the door close behind her, and a moment later, watched Tanaka pass her and make his way up the stairs, her pathetic looking duffel in one hand.

She was suddenly very conscious of her worn blue jeans, rumpled button-up shirt and scuffed boots. She attempted to shine her footwear on the backs of her pant legs, but it didn't do much good. She wished she'd at least ironed her shirt this morning.

"Soaking it all in?" Chuck was standing behind her, watching her as she looked around, incredulous.

"I can't believe it. I just can't _believe_ it."

He put an arm around her shoulders. "Believe it. This is your home now. In a few days, the shock will wear off." She finally tore her eyes off her surroundings and looked at her grandfather, grinning.

"Sure puts Aunt Vivian's singlewide to shame, that's for sure." She glanced around and realized that she and Chuck were the only people in the massive entry hall. "Hey, where'd Chris go?"

"I think he went to find Ella... You've got quite a few people to meet, come to think of it."

She looked at him in puzzlement as he guided her into the living room. It was a large room, but nowhere near as forbidding as the entry hall. Maybe she _would_ be able to get used to it here. She sure wasn't going to complain. Chuck sat on the couch and motioned for her to join him.

She sat down, staring in amazement at the enormous plasma screen television. "That is the _biggest_ television set I have _ever _seen."

"It's great for watching movies on. Almost like being at the theater. The sound system's pretty impressive as well. Where _is _that boy?"

Ki didn't respond. She was too busy staring in shock at the rather large, two-tailed fox that had just entered the room. The fox stared back, as if trying to decide whether or not to run away.

"Ah, hello Tails. Say hello to my granddaughter, Kianna."

The fox walked towards her, grinning, and waved. "Hi! So you're Chris's cousin, huh?"

Ki had completely forgotten how to string syllables together into comprehensible sentences. Instead, she continued to stare. Tails, for his part, began to look distinctly uncomfortable, wringing his twin tails together and rocking back on his heels.

"There you guys are! I figured I might find you in here." Chris had returned. Ki somehow managed to turn her head to look in his direction. Tails looked relieved. "I see you've met Tails. Heh, he's our resident genius." Chuck cleared his throat. "Okay, okay, _one_ of our resident geniuses..." Chris rolled his eyes, then turned slightly towards the large woman that had followed him into the room, wiping her hands on her apron. "This is Ella." An oversized lop-eared rabbit suddenly appeared from behind the maid, holding a creature that Ki couldn't identify in her arms. Whatever it was, it was wearing a red bowtie. "And this–" Chris pointed to the rabbit, "–is Cream, and that–" he pointed to the strange blue creature "–is Cheese."

Cream gave her a cheerful hello, even bowing slightly, and the creature said something that sounded like 'Chao.' Ki was still staring, her mouth hanging open, when something sharp jabbed her sharply in the ribcage. Chuck had elbowed her, trying to snap her out of her trance. It worked. She rubbed her side and turned to look at him.

"We could rent you out as a fly-trap, you know that?" She blinked at him, than abruptly closed her mouth. And then she opened it again.

"You-you-you didn't say th-th-they were he-here! H-how many other su-surprises you plannin' t'spring on m-me??"

He grinned again, clearly amused at her sudden speech impediment. "Not-not-not too ma-many more, I d-don't th-think." The others in the room laughed. Ki tried to scowl, but ended up laughing as well. He had sounded exactly like her.

She turned to face her new acquaintances. "Um... sorry for staring. I just... well... wasn't exactly expecting... wow. Um, yeah... I'm Kianna Thorndyke. Call me Ki – I hate my real name."

Tails sat next to her on the couch. "Apology accepted. I guess I kinda understand. At least you didn't try to pet me like some people do."

"They try to _pet_ you?"

He grimaced. "All the time."

The girl's eyes glinted mischievously. "Aww, I can see why, too. You're so cute!"

He looked at her in horror. She laughed out loud, putting her hands up in defense. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!! Take it easy, I'm only kidding!"

He clutched his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't _DO_ that!! I'm too young to have a heart attack!" He was smiling.

Ella spoke up. "I hate to disappear so quickly after meeting you, but it's getting late and we need to get started on dinner."

Ki nodded. "It's nice meeting you, Ella. You too, Cream."

"CHAO!"

"Oh! And you too, of course... Cheese, was it?" The little creature smiled. It was actually pretty cute. Weird, but cute.

"Nice meeting you, too, Ki. See you at dinner, then." The maid turned and left the room, Cream right behind her.

Ki turned to face her grandfather. "She's starting dinner at twelve o'clock in the afternoon?"

"She's cooking something special tonight, in your honor."

Ki blushed. "She doesn't need to go to any trouble..."

"Nonsense! She wants to! After all, it isn't every day that we get to welcome a new member into our family." Chuck got to his feet. "Well, I'll let you kids talk, hmm? Oh, Ki, if you think the house it impressive, it's nothing compared to Ella's cooking. See you all later!" And with that, he too left the room, whistling to himself. Ki concluded that her grandfather was very youthful for his 55 years.

Chris took the vacated place on the couch, and Ki, embarrassed that she seemed to be causing such a commotion in the way things normally ran here, decided to change the subject. She turned to Tails.

"So, are you guys just visiting, or..."

Chris piped up from her other side. "They live here, actually. At least until they find a way to go home."

The teenager turned her head so fast her neck cricked. "They _live_ here? Wait– _All_ of them??"

"Well, most of them, I guess. Let's see... There's Tails, Cream, Cheese, Amy – you'll meet her soon enough, she hasn't shut up about how excited she it to have another teenage girl around, which is weird, because she's only twelve... – and Sonic, of course."

Ki choked. "...Sonic?"

He nodded. Ki repeated herself anyway.

"_Sonic? THE _Sonic?"

Chris beamed. "You know of any others?"

Ki leaned back against the couch, staring at the blank TV set. "Wow."

"You like that word, don't you?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess I do. It's kinda all encompassing. Amazement, shock, surprise, joy, all rolled into one little syllable."

"Huh, I never thought of it like that."

Ki thought of something and turned back to face Tails again. "Um, I hope you don't mind my asking – I don't mean to offend you or anything – but what's with your having _two_ tails? I mean, is that a normal trait where you come from?" The fox didn't look offended in the least. In fact, he looked proud.

"I was born with them. And no, two tails isn't a common trait. I've never heard of anybody else like me."

Ki grinned. "Cool."

Chris spoke again. "What's _really_ cool is when he flies with them."

Ki's jaw dropped again. Without hesitation, Tails reached over and pushed it back up for her. She shook her head. "Did– Did he just say you can _fly_ with them?"

The kit nodded, looking prouder than ever. Ki started to open her mouth, but he beat her to it. "I know. '_Wow'_."

"Hey, no fair, that's my line!" She burst out laughing, as did the other two. After the laughter died down, Ki turned to her cousin.

"So, are you gonna give me the grand tour of your palace, or what?"

"Palace? It's... just a house..." His tone let her know that he was all too aware of how grand a house he lived in. He seemed a little embarrassed by it.

"Believe me, compared to where I just left, this is a palace." She thought back to the rodent problem at her aunt's house, and shuddered. "It's definitely cleaner. So come on, I don't want to get lost later just trying to find my room!"

Tails excused himself, saying he had something he wanted to work on, and Chris led her out of the room, back into the entry hall. From there, he showed her where the kitchen was, where the dining room was, where the downstairs bathrooms were, and so on. Eventually they headed up the grand staircase to the second floor. Chris pointed out his room, a couple more bathrooms, the _helicopter pad_ (Ki had stared for several seconds), and several more bedrooms. Ki knew she'd forget almost immediately who lived in which room. He stopped at one last door and pushed it open.

"And this is your room. Hope you like it – it's one of the guest rooms, but Grandpa says we can redecorate it any way you'd like." The room was... big. It even had its own bathroom and balcony. The furniture and decorations were, overall, a bit too frilly for her taste, but she could live with it. Her bag was sitting on the trunk that stood at the foot of the bed – it looked painfully out of place.

Chris was watching her. "So, what do you think?"

She grinned and turned to face him, coming back out of the room. "It'll do. Oh, hang on a sec."

He had started to head back for the staircase, but now he stopped and turned to her. "What's wrong?"

Ki pulled a yellow bandanna out of her pocket and tied it around the doorknob of her bedroom, explaining, "So I can find it later." Her cousin laughed.

"The house isn't _that_ big!"

"Chris, I'm from Texas. I _know_ big. And trust me, _this_–" she spread out her arms, her gesture encompassing the entire mansion, "–is _big_."

"Heh, if you say so..." They returned to the ground floor and Chris led her out a side door and toward a smaller building, via a covered walkway. The grounds around the house were almost ridiculously vast. Ki wondered, if she decided to take a walk, if she'd get lost. She figured it was a good bet.

She found herself standing at the door of what appeared to be a garage. Before she could ask about why they were there, though, he opened the door and disappeared inside. A second later, he poked his head back out and beckoned to her. "You coming?"

"Oh, uh, yeah... Why are we going into the garage?" She followed him as he grinned at her again. One thing was for sure, there was no lack of cheerfulness around here.

"Grandpa lives here. And it's not just any garage. It's a lab, too. And an airplane hangar."

"...Lab? Grandpa has a _lab_? Did I miss something or what?"  
As if on cue, the gray-haired man appeared, making his way down a staircase. He was wearing a lab coat. And then Ki noticed something else that was a bit... unusual. The second part of Chris' statement soaked in.

There was a _plane_ in the garage. Trying not to stare, she shook her head violently, sending her light brown braids whipping around so that they hit her in the face. She rubbed her eyes. _Wow. _

Of course, she'd known Sonic and company had a plane, as she'd seen it on the news several times, but it was a very different thing to be standing so _close_ to it.

"Impressive piece of work, isn't it?" Chuck had reached the bottom of the stairs.

She nodded. "Awesome."

Tails appeared from inside the cockpit. "Well, 'awesome' is a step up from 'wow'. At least you managed two syllables." The fox wielded a screwdriver, and was wearing magnifying goggles. The lenses made his eyes appear several times larger than they already were.

She giggled, looking up at him. "You look like a bug."

He shrugged, pushing his eyewear up to the top of his head. "I have to be able to see what I'm doing." There was a circle of flattened fur around each of his eyes, and Ki had to stifle another giggle.

Chuck crossed the room, ducking under a wing, and searched through a tool chest. "Finished the tour already, Chris?"

Chris told him about how Ki had tied her bandanna to the doorknob of her room. The older man chuckled. "A little overwhelmed, eh Ki? I got lost on the second floor my first time in the house – didn't see anyone else for three days." Ki raised her eyebrows, unsure of what to make of that. She assumed it was a joke, but glanced at Chris to be sure. He shrugged and mouthed 'beats me.' After a moment, Chuck returned and started back up the stairs. "Well, come on, you two."

They bid Tails a 'later' and followed their grandfather up the stairs and through a trapdoor to the room above. Ki looked around, noting the various pieces of equipment and scientific odds and ends, aside from the bedroom standards, such as a bed and dresser. There were a couple of large beanbag chairs on the floor, and a bright pink hedgehog in a red dress was lounging on one, reading a fashion magazine. She looked up when they entered the room...

...And made the single most unholy sound Ki had ever heard in her life. All three humans cringed as she squealed in excitement, jumping up and running over to them.

"YoumustbeKiannaI'mAmyRosenicetomeetyou!"

Ki stared at the younger girl. She hadn't understood a single word the hedgehog had just said. Assuming that she had actually been speaking. It was hard to tell. Like most teenage girls, Ki could usually decipher 'girl-speak', but that exclamation had been entirely incomprehensible, even to her. She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that... I'm guessing you're Amy?"

The other girl nodded vigorously, and repeated herself, a bit more slowly. "Amy Rose! You must be Kianna! Nice to meet you!" This time Ki managed to understand the girl, as she was actually separating her words. She unconsciously reached up with one hand and rubbed at her temple. She had a feeling this was the first of many headaches Amy was going to give her...

"Please, call me Ki. Nice to meet you too. You're very loud." She had been told in the past that she rather lacked tact – and here was proof.

Chris and Chuck clapped their hands over their mouths, desperate to stifle their sniggers. Amy blushed, her eyes narrowing. She turned to the snickering pair to her left, and gave them a look that could have melted lead. Both stopped laughing instantly, and actually took several steps away from the hedgehog. An alarm began to wail in Ki's head: _Emergency! Emergency! BAIL OUT!_ She raised her eyebrows, quickly ascertaining that it was _not_ a good idea to make this one angry. _BAIL OUT!!!_

"Geez, look, no, I'm sorry, you just sorta, you know, caught me off guard. I'm sorry, okay? Please don't be angry. ...I like your boots, by the way." If she had backpedaled any faster, she would have moonwalked right out the window.

Amy suddenly turned back to her and beamed at the compliment, completely forgetting her anger. "Thanks! I like your hat."

Ki made a mental note: fashion was always a good topic to bring up around Amy, especially if she was in a bad mood. She avoided the temptation to sigh in relief that the girl hadn't exploded. "Thanks. My dad gave it to me when I was six. 'Course, it was a little big then, but it fits just fine now."

"Wow, it looks nearly brand new!"

The older girl shrugged. "I take good care of it."

Amy switched topics. "So, have you met Sonic yet?"

"No, actually, I think he's the only person I _haven't_ met yet."

Chris spoke from where he sat on the bed on the other side of the room – apparently, he and his grandfather had decided it was safest over there, out of Amy's immediate striking range. "He went for one of his runs this morning. He probably won't be back until dinner."

Ki stepped around Amy, who was still grinning like an idiot as she returned to her seat. Chris hadn't been kidding – Amy _was_ excited to have Ki around. Ki chose a beanbag for herself and plopped down on it, leaning back casually. "...'One of his runs'?"

"Yeah, he does that a lot," Chris explained. "Takes off early in the day and stays gone for hours."

"Dang. Really likes running, doesn't he?"

Chuck smiled. "He's not called 'Sonic' for nothing. So, what are you kids going to do this afternoon?"

Shrugs from both human children. Amy didn't reply at all – she was engrossed in her magazine again. Several long, silent moments passed. Then Ki got an idea. "Hey, do'ya think... I mean, would it be okay if I just go exploring on my own for a while? I think if I find my way around myself, I'll remember where everything is better."

"That sounds like a good idea. Maybe you should draw a map as you go." Chuck winked at her. "What about you, Chris?"

The twelve-year-old shrugged again. "I guess I could see if I can help Tails with anything. I think he still has a lot of repairs to make to the Tornado after that last battle with Eggman." Ki found it strange that her cousin spoke of fighting that lunatic so casually. Would she be doing the same in a few weeks?

Her grandfather smiled. "I'm sure Tails will appreciate the help."

Ki struggled up from the floor and stood up. "Thanks for showing me around, Chris. I guess I'll see you all at dinner then?" They nodded – they weren't about to miss Ella's special occasion cooking. "Okay. See you later." She turned to leave, but stopped at the top of the stairs. "Um... thank you both... y'know, for everything."

Her grandfather stood up and crossed the room, and hugged her again. "What's family for, hmm? Now you'd better get going, so if you get lost, we can launch a search party and have you back in time for dinner."

She grinned and made her way down the stairs, and back out the door, planning to get as far away from the volatile Amy as possible. She wandered around for a while, exploring the enormous yard (and yard hardly seemed the right word for it; 'grounds' seemed more appropriate). There were many different types of trees, seemingly endless hedgerows, fountains, reflecting pools – and a huge swimming pool. There was a smaller pool as well, sort of a kiddy pool, but she wasn't interested in it. She preferred deep water.

Ki couldn't wait to go swimming, and to have a chance at that high dive. She'd probably kill herself, having never been off a diving board quite so tall before, but at least she'd go out with a smile.


	5. Knuckles The Enigma

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

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**My Life: Anything But Ordinary**  
**Chapter V: Knuckles The Enigma**

When I at last woke up, I found myself upstairs in my own bed, bright mid-day sun shining through the Venetian blinds and spilling over the blue quilt that covered me. I was lying on my side, and I let my eyes roam around the room, trying to get my bearings. I found that I was very sore and very stiff. And my chest hurt. And so did my tail.

**_MY TAIL???_**

The events of the day before rushed back to me, and I sat bolt upright in bed, feeling a horrible twinge of pain in my tail. I caught sight of myself in the full-length mirror that was mounted on my door.

Damn. It hadn't been a dream.

I was an echidna.

I had been torn up by a several-hundred-foot fall into a bunch of freaking trees.

My stupid tail was broken.

It hurt so much... It occurred to me that since my tail was of course a part of my spinal column, it would probably hurt worse than most broken bones. I had broken my arm once, while falling off a really grouchy horse. That had seemed like a lot of pain at the time, but this easily surpassed that. And the pain traveled clear up and down my spine, from the very top where it connected with my skull, clear down to the tip of my tail. I was already about ready to go back to sleep, if for no other reason than to escape the pain.

At least the room wasn't moving. That was a plus. Somehow, I managed to swing my legs over the side of the bed, and then stood up. The quilt fell back to the bed, and I looked over my battered body. I was covered pretty much head to toe in bandages. I practically looked like a mummy. I felt a lot like one, too. Though pretty much anything that had bled was covered by the bandages, dark bruises could be seen under the pale fur of my muzzle, and both my eyes were blackened as well.

I had heard the phrase 'you look like death warmed over' before, but never had it seemed more appropriate.

I looked horrible.

I felt worse.

It took several seconds before it hit me – aside from the bandages, and of course, my new fur, I was _completely naked._ I felt the blood drain from my face as I realized that to treat all of my wounds, they had had to take what remained of my clothes off.

Which meant that Tails, Knuckles, Sonic, Chris, and possibly even my _grandfather_ had seen me naked. Hell, for all I knew, Amy, Cream, Ella, and Tanaka had seen me au natural as well.

Well, now I felt _so _much better.

I had been so absorbed in my appearance, my pain, and the horror that my privates, _weren't, _that I hadn't noticed that I wasn't, in fact, alone in the room. So when I heard a deep voice speak up from the chair on the other side of my bed, I nearly jumped up onto the ceiling fan in fright.

"Afternoon."

Producing a high-pitched squeal that would have put Amy to shame, I yanked the entire blanket off my bed, covering myself completely, even going so far as to wrap it over my head like a hood. My eyes were no doubt the size of dinner plates as I looked up to find Knuckles, of all people, smirking at me. His eyes sparkled in amusement as I crawled back onto the bed (my body complaining with every movement) and shrunk down as much as I could, little more than my black nose visible outside of the quilt. Again, I found my body reacting in a non-human way to my emotion – my tail curled – excruciatingly – down against my legs in humiliation.

Damn that arrogant face. I wanted to smash it. Or disappear. I'd have been perfectly happy with either. Unfortunately, neither event transpired, and I was forced to watch as he lounged in the armchair between my bed and the balcony, watching me. After what felt like an absolute eternity, he spoke again.

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to wake up. You've been unconscious for more than two days."

So it hadn't been the day before. It had been the three days ago. That explained why I was so hungry. On the other hand, I didn't need to go to the bathroom. This brought up three possibilities. One, I had lost a lot of blood, and therefore been so dehydrated that my body had absorbed every last bit of liquid it could back into it. Two, I was lucky enough to have the strongest bladder in the universe. Or three, someone had had to change the sheets at some point.

Oh dear God. I very much hoped it was one of the first two choices.

"Wha-wh-what th-the hell are y-you doing in h-he-here?!?" I managed to splutter, looking back at him in horror. He seemed to be biting back a laugh.

The jerk.

"It's my watch. We've been taking turns keeping an eye on you, in case you suddenly took a turn for the worse. Or in case you panicked when you woke up," he added with significance. He paused for a moment, then gestured toward me, apparently referring to the position I was in. "Doesn't that hurt?"

Oh, God, did it ever. Not that I was going to admit it to _him_. "What do you care?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Suffer." Several more minutes passed with him just watching me, and I finally pulled the quilt all the way over my head so I wouldn't have to feel him _looking_ at me. Eventually I felt the mattress shift as he got up from the chair and sat down next to me, and I scooted back until I ran into the headboard. I pulled the blanket tighter, my face burning hotter than ever under the thick material.

"G'way." My voice was muffled, but apparently, Knuckles still understood me.

"Ki..." He was trying not to laugh again. He probably thought it was funny that the more flustered I became, the thicker my accent became. His name rose back to the top of my hit list. Then I felt one of his hands rest on the middle of my back. I yipped and tried to scoot farther away, but there was nowhere to go but the floor.

"I _sed_ g'_way_."

"Ki, you don't have to hide, you know."

"What? Y'wanna look at me summore?"

"Ki, for God's sake..."

"Well, 'scuse me for bein' modest. Like Tails sed, humans gen'rally 'sider clothes t'be _necessary_." Oh, look, I managed to annunciate an entire word. Yay.

"Maybe so, but humans aren't built as... _discreetly_ as most Mobians are. Think about it. Does it bother you that _I_ don't wear pants?"

Just when I thought I couldn't possibly become any more embarrassed, I did. I hadn't really thought about that before. Now that I _did _think about it, I couldn't see how I hadn't. I didn't answer.

"Ki. I'm waiting. Does it bother you that I don't wear clothes? Or Sonic? Or Tails?" He used the hand he had on my back to tug on my blanket. When I refused to come out, he sighed. "Ki... You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Trust me."

"Why should'uh trust _you_?"

I could practically hear him roll his eyes, and his voice dripped with sarcasm (I hadn't realized he was capable of sarcasm!) when he answered. "Hmm, let's see... I helped search for you when I found out you'd fallen from the Eggfort, I didn't let you bleed to death in that forest, I didn't let you hurt yourself further by trying to walk back to the plane, I forced you to let us treat your wounds despite how unreasonable you were being, I stayed around to make sure you recovered, and I'm sitting here now. That enough for you?"

"You broke my tail." I felt a twinge of guilt then; that was really a cheap shot, and I knew it. He had only been trying to help. My tail had just been caught in the crossfire.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you further. Believe me, I know how much that hurts. I'm sorry." He repeated, pulling on my blanket again. "Ki, at least look at me, will you?"

I didn't respond. My tail throbbed as it curled tighter, pressing against my legs. I clenched my eyes tight against the resulting tears.

He sighed again, more loudly than before. "You bring these things on yourself, you know."

Before I could work out what he meant, he had given my quilt one great tug, completely uncovering me. I squealed in dismay and curled up as tightly as I could, which, as it turned out, was much more tightly than I had been capable of as a human. Unfortunately, this made my chest hurt ten times worse than it already did. The pain forced me to uncurl almost completely, and I was left feeling very vulnerable. I resorted to screaming at Knuckles through the dreadlocks that had fallen over my face.

"Leave me _alone!__Get the fuck away from me!!!"_

Knuckles was wholly unaffected by my outburst. He didn't say anything more, nor did he move. He just sat there, watching me, and waiting.

And me? I started crying. It began out of shame that I was exposed before him, but it didn't end there. Once the floodgates opened, everything else came pouring out. The terror of my fall from the Eggfort; the pain from my injuries, my tail in particular; the humiliation as Knuckles had torn my shirt off of me, and of later when he'd tackled me and held me down, with one of my best friends and my own cousin helping to restrain me; the mortifying fact that so many people had seen me unclothed.

And above all else, the fact that I was no longer _me_.

I wasn't even human any more, and it was nearly impossible to comprehend. And it hurt.

It just... hurt.

My shock, it seemed, had completely worn off, thanks in large part to the Mobian sitting next to me.

After a while, Knuckles reached over and pushed my quills out of my face, and then I felt his hand settle on my back again. He rubbed my back lightly, as if trying to help the pain go away. A fresh wave of emotion tore through me; my whole body shook. Knuckles usually seemed so cold and almost cruel, and yet he had made absolutely sure that I was okay. I had insulted him, screamed at him, hit him and struggled against him, but he had taken care of me. No matter how hard I had tried to get rid of him, he'd matched my pigheadedness with his own. Even now, when I had told him in no uncertain terms to get away from me, he refused, knowing that I needed someone to be there.

"I hate you..." I whimpered miserably. But we both knew I didn't mean it. There was just no escaping that I probably owed Knuckles my life. Maybe more than that.

He stayed with me until I cried myself back to sleep.


	6. Memory n3: Meeting the Hero Hi

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary  
Chapter VI: Memory Number Three: Meeting the Hero Himself**

Kianna Thorndyke stood on the back porch of her new home, looking out over the enormous back yard.

She wondered idly how long it would take to run across it. Then she grinned.

Why the hell not?

Putting her right foot out in front of her left and bending her knees slightly, she leaned forward and looked down at her watch. She began to count down the seconds.

6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Go!

Ki took off, running as fast as she could toward the other end of the yard. When she reached the circle of hedges in the center of the yard, she weaved between some and leaped over a couple of the smaller ones. Once, she caught her boot on one of the bushes and sprawled out in the path, but she quickly scrambled back to her feet and resumed her mission, grateful that it was a gravel path and not paved.

She just hoped no one had seen her graceful display.

She ran past the last reflection pool at the rear side of the hedge circle, raced through a row of trees that followed another path that ran across the back of the circle, and ran out into another large open space...

...And skidded to a sharp halt to avoid ramming face-first into a small cliff. She threw her arms backward to keep from running into the wall, and ended up falling on her rear.

She held her watch in front of her face as she pushed herself back to her feet.

0:23

"Cool."

"Race you back."

Ki whirled around in surprise, not having expected to see anyone else out here.

The first thing she registered was blue fur. Then quills. Then she panicked.

_ Holy-holy-holy freakin' cow I don't believe what I'm seeing it's really him it's really him oh my God I can't breath I'm such a freakin' moron..._

She had gasped in surprise, and midway through tried to turn it into a calming breath. Instead, she took in too much oxygen at once and, having already been out of breath, suddenly found that she couldn't get any more oxygen at all. She doubled over, her hands on her knees, wheezing for air.

She was hyperventilating. She'd never hyperventilated before. It was scary. But that wasn't the worst part.

She was hyperventilating. In front of _Sonic the Hedgehog._ The first time she'd met him, and she was making a fool of herself.

_ Way to make a first impression, _she groused silently.

"Whoa, are you okay?"

Ki stared at the grass beneath her and continued to struggle for air. She managed a tiny nod.

"I'll_–"__wheeze _"–be al-alright–"_ gasp _"–I thi–"_ wheeze _"–think..."_ cough, splutter "_Only–"_ gasp _"–hyper–"_ wheeze, cough _"–venti-venti–" _gasp_ "–lating..." Her eyes were watering furiously; her windpipe seemed to have narrowed to the width of a soda straw. She started to panic.

Suddenly he was standing next to her. "Boy, I didn't mean to scare you so badly... alright, take it easy, try to relax... no, don't try to talk, just concentrate on breathing... not so deep, you'll make it worse... that's it..."

Ki wondered, somewhere in the part of her mind that wasn't preoccupied with the pursuit of oxygen, how he knew what to do for hyperventilation. She decided to worry about it later. She was going to collapse if she didn't start breathing normally soon.

"I–" _gasp _"–can't..."

"Yes you can. Stop trying to talk. Slow breaths... easy... you'll be fine... just relax..." He put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

She tried to follow his instructions, but it was hard. Her lungs were burning and her head was swimming. It only seemed to be getting worse.

And then, after what seemed like an eternity, and just as she was sure she was going to black out, her breathing began to slow.

"Atta girl... See? I told you you'd be all right. That's it... Nice, even breaths..."

When at last her breathing had returned to normal, Ki lowered herself to the grass, trying to stop the shaking in her legs. Sonic sat next to her.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "That... hurt..."

"I'll bet. Um... do you... do that often?"

Ki looked up at him, startled. She shook her head. "No. That was the first time. And hopefully the last time. ...Geez, I must look like a total idiot."

He chuckled. "It's okay. At least you didn't try to strangle me like Amy does." She raised an eyebrow, and he laughed. "Oh, she's not _really_ trying to strangle me. She just gets... what's the word I'm looking for... overexcited. _Very_ overexcited."

The human laughed. "Sheez, I can believe that. She nearly made my ears bleed when we met earlier. And a few seconds later she looked like she was gonna shove me down the stairs or something. She a few light bulbs short of a chandelier or something?"

"I've been trying to figure that out for years." He paused a moment. "We haven't been introduced." He held out a hand." I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."

She grinned and shook his hand. "Yeah, I, uh, I know who you are. I'm Kianna Thorndyke. But call me Ki. You call me Kianna, and I'll have to hurt you."

Unsurprisingly, he didn't look very worried about the threat. "Nice to meet you, Ki."

"You too."

They sat in silence for a while longer, until Ki had fully recovered.

"I think I can stand up now." She hauled herself to her feet to prove it – and he jumped to his. He shot her a mischievous smile.

"So, how 'bout that race?"

She stared at him. "Are you joking or what?" Her lungs had only just stopped hurting, and he wanted her to race. Funny.

"No, of course not!"

She continued to look at him blankly. "But... you'd beat me... without breaking a sweat."

"Ah, c'mon, I'll go easy on you. It'll be fun."

"I don't think so."

"Chicken."

"Oh, no you did _NOT_."

He folded his arms into 'wings' and started clucking at her, a rather goofy grin plastered on his face. "Buk-buk-buk-bah_GAWK_!" She tried not to laugh. She failed. He was certainly skilled in the art of teasing and taunting. He was a total... well, the word 'goober' sprang to mind.

And crap. She couldn't let him call her a chicken. Before she realized what she was doing, she had accepted the challenge.

"Fine." He stopped clucking and dropped into a sprinter's crouch. She did the same, shaking her head in disbelief. "I must be outta my mind."

"Nah... You just like the challenge, that's all. Ready..." He looked straight ahead. "...Set..."

Ki looked out toward the mansion.

_ I'm absolutely insane. Racing Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm absolutely completely freaking bonkers._

"GO!"

Ignoring the hedgehog, she pushed off and started running, suddenly wishing she were wearing sneakers. Her boots were well broken-in, but sneakers were still much better for this. Oh well. Wasn't like she had a chance in hell of winning anyway. She'd completely cleared the massive hedge circle before allowing herself to locate her challenger.

Ki burst out laughing, and nearly fell flat on her face. Sonic was running _backwards_, watching her with the same playful grin. She shook her head and put more effort into her running. She certainly wasn't going to stop now. She might collapse on the back porch, but dang it, she was going to give it her all.

_ I have too much pride. That's what my problem is._

She was nearly to the porch before realizing that she needed slow down. She ended up running up the stairs and putting her hands out, deliberately 'landing' against the side of the house. Her lungs were hurting again, but this time, she didn't mind. She'd _earned _it.

"Not bad for a _human_." Sonic teased from where he leaned against the wall a few feet away.

"Yeah, well..." She puffed out her chest and leaned against the wall as well, crossing her arms over her chest. The effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that she was still panting from exertion. "I'm cool like that." Then she noticed something. "Ah, damn, I lost my hat." She started back out towards the yard. Sonic flashed past her, and returned just as quickly, brushing her hat off as he held it out to her.

She blinked, then took it and returned it to where it belonged with a grin. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "No problem."

She adjusted her hat, then turned toward the door. "Gah, I've got to get some water. I only hope I can find the kitchen." He laughed and followed her inside.

"I'll go with you – I could use something to drink, too. And the kitchen's not _too_ hard to find."

Ki shook her head in disbelief as she followed the hedgehog down the hall. "I never in a million years thought I'd find myself even talking to you, let alone _racing_ you. Good Lord, I just ran a race against _Sonic the Hedgehog_. I should have my head examined."

He shrugged, still smiling, and pushed open the door that led into the kitchen. "Hey, guys. Look who I found." Ella, Cream, and Cheese all greeted them with smiles. Several terrific aromas filled the kitchen – turkey, potatoes, and...

"Geez, it smells like Thanksgiving in here! And is that apple pie?"

Cream nodded from where she stood on a stool by one of the counters. "Uh-huh! Cheese and I helped make it!"

Ki smiled. "Then I'm sure it'll be wonderful. You two look like good cooks." Cream and Cheese beamed; Ella and Sonic both smiled at her in a way that told her they approved of the way she handled the children.

Ki started to look around the kitchen. She became so distracted by the various works in progress that she completely forgot how thirsty she was. That is, until Sonic tapped her arm and held out a glass of ice water. She took it gratefully, thanking him as she took a seat at the kitchen table. The hedgehog quickly drained his glass and placed it in the sink, then headed for the door.

"I'm out of here. See ya!" It wasn't that he was dismissing them; he was just ready to go again. Ki wished she had even half of that energy – it'd probably be a lot like drinking a couple _hundred_ Mountain Dews. Without the ensuing trips to the bathroom. She took another long sip of her water.

"Ah, that tastes good." She shook her head again. "I can't believe I just talked to Sonic the Hedgehog. I can't believe I'm living in the same house with Sonic the Hedgehog. Good Lord, I can't believe I just _raced_ Sonic the Hedgehog.

"_Wow_."


	7. Disturbing Discoveries and Lunch!

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary**  
**Chapter VII: Disturbing Discoveries and... Lunch!** When I woke the next time, the sun was just beginning to rise. I'd slept clear through the rest of the day and the entire night. Not that it mattered much. I still felt terrible. Worse, actually. 

I found that I was no longer scooted up into the corner of my bed, but that I was again lying in the center of it. My quilt had been spread out, covering me up once more. Knuckles, it seemed, had decided to let me deal with my modesty issues in my own time, at least as far as the others were concerned.

I wanted to go back to sleep; it would have been easier that way, and I wouldn't have been in pain. Unfortunately, my stomach would hear nothing of that. I was still hungry, and I was certain that there was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep before eating something.

Wondering who was in the room with me now, since Knuckles' shift was certainly over, I turned – carefully – to face the chair by my bed.

I found Amy.

Well. That figured.

Hunger or no hunger, I was not up to dealing with that girl right now. Fortunately for me, she was slumped over, asleep, some romance novel in her lap. I decided not to wake her. Rolling back onto my other side, facing _away_ from the obnoxious pink hedgehog in the corner, I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Despite how sure I had been that it wouldn't, sleep came easily, and I drifted off with hopes that someone – anyone – else would be watching over me when I woke up again.

I woke again around lunchtime. I opened my eyes in time to see Chris leaving the room, and Knuckles entering.

"Afternoon. Again."

I offered him a weak smile. "Hi." He resumed his post by my bed, and I turned to face him. "What time is it?"

"About one o'clock."

"Geez, I can't believe I slept that long." I forced myself to sit up, trying, rather in vain, to avoid my tail.

"You need your rest. Where do you think you're going?" I had swung my legs over the side of the bed. I couldn't put this off any longer.

"I have to go to the bathroom. Is that allowed, or do you wanna come hold my hand?" He rolled his eyes, looking at me like one looks at a particularly difficult child.

"Go for it, as long as you think you can make it there and back on your own."

"I don't really have a whole lotta choice. Um..." Damn. I was still naked. How the hell was I supposed to get to the bathroom and back? Granted, it was only a few feet, but that didn't mean I really felt any better about being naked in front of Knuckles. Or anyone, for that matter. I realized that Knuckles was watching me.

"I thought we went through this already, Ki."

"I can't help it."

"Get over it."

"Bite me."

"Don't tempt me."

I stared at him. Did he just say what I think he just said? He smirked.

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

I blushed. "Um, uh, I..."

"I thought you had to go to the bathroom."

I sighed in frustration. Was he deliberately making this difficult or what? I weighed my options. I had two choices, really. Get up and go to the bathroom, or stay here and wet the bed. In the second case, the sheets would have to be changed, and I'd be exposed anyway.

Well, shit.

Hesitantly, I pulled the quilt back and stood up, yelping as my tail hit the mattress. There was a splint spanning several inches of it, to prevent further damage, but unfortunately, a splint doesn't do a whole lot for pain. And meanwhile, the darn thing, long as it was, was sticking out behind me. Oh, it wasn't entirely immobile, and I could move it some despite the splint (and controlling it felt very, very strange), but it was going to take a while to get used to having a new appendage basically sprouting from my butt.

Hence the fact that I forgot to avoid it when I got out of bed. The pain nearly knocked me off my feet. Knuckles jumped up and grabbed my arm to steady me.

"Take it easy... You've got to be more careful than that, Ki."

"I didn't do it on purpose..." I managed through gritted teeth.

"I know, I know... Are you all right? Do you need to lie back down?"

"I..." I took a deep breath (or rather, as deep as I dared, for fear of causing myself further pain via the gash on my chest), and steadied myself. "I think I'll be okay. 'Least long enough to get to the bathroom and back. Thanks."

He didn't let go, and instead helped me toward the bathroom door. When I got a good grip on the doorframe, he let go. "Well, go on then. The sooner you get in there, the sooner you can go back to bed."

"Good point." I closed the door behind me and stared resentfully at the toilet. Great. My feet weren't even going to touch the floor. Far more mindful of my tail now than before, I clambered up, awkwardly, onto the seat.

At least my bladder felt better. Though something felt a little... off. I gulped and glanced down, not really wanting to think about what it could be that was bothering me.

Knuckles was knocking on the door the moment the shriek got past my lips.

"Ki? Ki, are you all right? Did you hit your tail again?"

"No... not my tail..." I managed weakly as I struggled back to the floor.

"Ki? Don't try to tell me that there's nothing wrong. You didn't scream like that for no reason."

"I'm all right. Nothing's wrong..." Well of _course_, something's wrong, but it's not something I'm willing to discuss with _you_.

I pushed the vanity chair over to the sink and kneeled on it so I could reach the sink easily, and washed my hands. While I dried them, I stared at myself in the mirror. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse...

"Why don't I believe you?"

Hmm, maybe because I'm lying? I opened the door. Knuckles stepped out of the way and I walked past him, awkwardly, straight for my bed. He remained by the bathroom door, watching me, confusion plain on his face. "Ki, you're white as a sheet. What happened?" I swallowed. How to explain without being explicit?

"Er, em..." I cleared my throat and climbed back into bed, tugging the quilt over me. It felt good to lie back down. "Let's just say that the, uh..." I cleared my throat. "...the _plumbing_ has been rearranged."

He stared at me for a long moment, and then peered into the bathroom. Then he looked back at me. "...I think I'm missing something here."

I fought the temptation to pull the blanket over my head, and instead gave him what I hoped was a meaningful look. "Not the _bathroom_ plumbing, you dolt..." He stared at me again, trying to puzzle out what on earth I was talking about. He glanced in the bathroom, then pulled the most spectacular double take I'd ever seen, sending his long quills flying. "Oh! Oh... Yeah, I can see how that could make you scream..." He came toward the bed, grinning like he'd just heard the best joke of his life. I pulled the quilt over my head.

"Oh, now don't start that again." He pulled it back off. So I closed my eyes. "Ki... I know this is a lot to get used to, but hiding from it won't help. You _can't_ hide from it. You're just going to have to face it."

"I don't want to."

He sighed. "Are you hungry?"

I opened my eyes, bewildered. "...What?"

"I asked if you're hungry."

"Um... yeah, actually, I'm really hungry." What the heck? He dropped his lecture awfully easily.

Weirdo.

"I'll go find Ella and bring you something. Stay here."

"_Yes, sir_." I threw him a (rather weak) mock salute.

He shook his head and left the room. About ten minutes later, he reappeared with a tray. I sat up and tried to get comfortable, but with my tail being, well, where it was, that wasn't easy. Knuckles put the tray down and helped me, rearranging the pillows until I could sit relatively comfortably. It still hurt, but I was hungry enough that I was willing to put up with it. Knuckles retrieved the tray and set it over my lap. I was so hungry that my pain was almost forgotten. Almost.

"Gotta love breakfast in bed. Or lunch. Whatever. Be a lot more fun if I felt better... I wonder if aspirin would help..."

"What's that?"

"Hmm?" I was preoccupied with the bowl of homemade chicken soup in front of me. That, combined with a large glass of orange juice, made up my lunch and first meal in two days. I was sure eating was going to be an unpleasant experience, but I was very hungry. I did think it was a little funny to have orange juice with lunch, but I sure wasn't going to complain. It looked good. I took a bite, the taste helping to make up for the further pain chewing caused – Ella can make anything taste heavenly, even something as simple as chicken soup. Knuckles' voice broke through my thoughts.

"I asked you what 'aspirin' was."

I finished my mouthful of noodles and looked up. "Oh, right. Aspirin's a medicine. A pain-killer."

Knuckles' brow furrowed as he settled back into his chair. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

I glanced up again. "What do you mean?"

"Aspirin's a human drug. You're not human. There's no way to know how it would react with your body chemistry. For all we know, it could kill you."

I swallowed a mouthful of broth (really, you haven't lived until you've had Ella's chicken soup), then sighed. "Gee, I hadn't thought of that. Guess it's a good thing I've got you looking out for me, huh?"

He smiled. "Yeah, guess so." He paused, and his smile faltered. "If we were on Mobius... if I could get to Angel Island, I'd have no problem finding something to treat you with, but here..."

"It's not your fault, Knuckles. Don't worry about it. I'll live." Though for how much longer, I wasn't sure. I focused on my meal and redoubled my efforts to blot out the pain.

We sat in silence for a while as I busied myself with my food. Everything tasted wonderful. Soon I'd finished off my meal, even drinking down the remaining broth from the bowl – and literally licking it clean. Then I turned my attention to my juice, grumbling in annoyance as I struggled not to make a mess.

"Something wrong with your lunch?"

"Oh, it's not the food. The food's great. It's just that this would be a lot easier to drink if I didn't have a hole in my lip." Yet another of my injuries – a busted lip. I drained the glass and set it down, and Knuckles moved the tray out of my way. I started to lie back down, dizzy from pain and more than ready to go back to sleep for a long while, but he stopped me.

"You'd better sit up for a while. You haven't eaten in a few days, and your body will probably have a little trouble re-adjusting."

"Oh. I guess you're right." I sighed. I wanted sleep. At least then I wouldn't be in pain. And sitting there, no longer distracted by my lunch, the pain was scooting back into the forefront of my awareness. I closed my eyes and tried not to make my discomfort too obvious.

"Ki? You all right?"

There was no reason to lie – he'd see right through it anyway. I shook my head, feeling tears starting to spill down my cheeks. I heard Knuckles get up and walk around to the other side of the bed, then felt the mattress shift as he climbed up onto it. He sat next to me, facing me, his legs folded beneath him. I looked at him questioningly.

"Wh-what are you...?" I blinked away more tears, trying to get a clear view of his expression, and trying to figure out what he was planning. He reached one arm out in front of me, across my shoulders, and placed his other hand on my back. He pushed gently with the hand he had on my back.

"Lean forward; take some of the pressure off your tail." I did as I was told, leaning against his arm. It was an awkward position, particularly since I was trying to hold myself up, rather than placing my full weight against him. He noticed this and pushed a little harder on my back.

"Relax, Ki. I can handle your weight. Just relax." When I didn't, he used the hand on my back to stroke my fur, starting at my shoulder blades, across the bandage that was wrapped around my torso, down to the base of my tail, all the while carefully avoiding my various wounds. I understood, then, why some animals enjoy being petted. It feels good. A little odd, at first, but good. I managed to relax some.

"Better?"

"A little," I mumbled. Then I sobbed. "I hate this, Knuckles... I don't want to be this; I wanna be me again... It hurts so much, Knuckles... I don't want to live like this... "

He pulled me a little closer, coaxing me to relax completely. I rested my head on his shoulder, my tears soaking into his fur. He didn't seem to mind. "Ki... don't talk like that. You're going to be fine. The pain will go away eventually..."

"I want to be human again! I'm _not_ an echidna; I don't belong in this body! I want _my_ body back..."

Apparently, he didn't know what to say this time. He continued stroking my back calmly, comfortingly. Again, it occurred to me just how weird and unpredictable Knuckles is – since when did he care about someone else's feelings? After several long moments, he spoke again.

"We don't know that this is permanent, Ki. You may still change back." His voice betrayed his optimistic statement, however, and it was clear that he highly doubted that I would ever be human again. Unfortunately, I tended to agree. I was frightened, very frightened. Afraid for the future, afraid for what other changes were in store for me, just when I had thought I'd finally found some sort of stability in my life.

"I just want to die... you should have let me die..." And I meant it.

Knuckles shifted position and pulled me into a hug. "No, you don't... don't say that... It'll be all right, Ki... You'll see..." I put my arms around him then, ignoring the pain it caused, and buried my face in the soft fur of his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why me? ...Why _now_? It's not fair... It's just not fair...why is this happening...?" I trailed off, desperate for answers, for understanding, and knowing that it was very unlikely that either would ever come.


	8. Bath Time, Yippee

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary  
Chapter VIII: Bath Time. Yippee.**

Tails made a disapproving sound as he unwrapped the last bandage, the one that covered a large portion of my chest. I gripped the back of the chair as he pulled it free, then looked down. The wound had begun to knit back together, but it looked worse, somehow. I wondered if my fur would hide the scar this would certainly leave.

It was a week after the accident, and I was sitting sideways on my roll-around desk chair, leaning on the back, and concentrating on restraining the tears that prickled in my eyes, as my wounds were unwrapped for inspection. My concentration was fast waning; the bandages clung to my wounds and clung to my fur where blood had dried between my body and the bandages, and it hurt when they were pulled free. The bandages had been changed every day, but I had been out cold the first few times, too exhausted for the added pain to wake me up. And every time they were unwrapped, no matter how careful the person caring for me was, the worst of them started bleeding again.

Tails put on his most cheerful smile. "Well, that's the last one to take off!"

"Thrills-Ville."

"Oh, c'mon, it won't be too long before we're taking them all off for good, you know."

"Yeah, I guess." Ella poked her head out of the bathroom then, announcing that she was ready for me. My shoulders slumped, and my face turned red. I knew I was in dire need of a bath – there were clear disadvantages to having such a strong sense of smell – but I would have preferred to take care of the problem myself. I hadn't had someone else bathe me since I was five years old, and frankly, it was humiliating. Unfortunately, the consensus was that it was safer this way. For one thing, if I bathed myself, I'd have to stretch to wash off, which would likely pull open some wounds. And as Knuckles had pointed out, there really should be someone there to make sure I didn't slip and hurt myself further. Or God forbid, hit my tail again. Another thing Knuckles had pointed out – I really didn't want to end up with a paralyzed tail.

I looked up at Tails, and discovered that his ears had turned pink – he was blushing as well. "I-I'll go out there, ok? Just lemme know when you're, um, done..." He fled, closing the door behind him, and Ella laughed. It _was_ actually pretty funny. I mean, I couldn't really blame the fox for fleeing, but at the same time, I wondered what difference it really made to have him in here or not. I was already naked. And without the bandages, I felt even more so. I shook my head, then lowered it onto the back of the chair.

"This's gonna hurt like hell, isn't it?"

Ella sighed, not bothering to scold me for my language. "Probably, sweetheart." At least she had the decency to be honest. I pushed myself unsteadily to my feet, and leaned on her, apprehensively, as we entered into the bathroom. It was weird – even when I had been human, Ella had been a big woman, but now that I was so much smaller, she seemed almost like a giant.

There was about five inches of water in the tub, and I cringed at the site of the steam rising off it. This really _was_ going to hurt. I sat on the side – I was so short, now, that stepping over it would have been a trick even if I hadn't been injured. With Ella's help, I swung my legs around and into the water, closing my eyes for a moment as the hot water soaked into my fur. I stood up in the bath and turned so that I was facing the faucet, and lowered myself, again with Ella's help, slowly into the water. It took a ridiculously long time to sit, because I kept stopping, whimpering pathetically as the water made contact with my wounds.

When I was finally sitting, I closed my eyes. It felt pleasant and awful at the same time. On the one hand, the water was clean, and the warmth was soothing to my muscles, which had been complaining from my laying almost exclusively on one side or the other for a week solid. On the other hand, every single cut and scratch and gash burned in the soapy water. Despite the great care Ella was taking not to hurt me, by the time she got to my dreadlocks, I was bawling.

As Ella scrubbed my dreads clean, in an attempt to take my mind off the pain, she told me that she'd asked Knuckles about quill grooming. I chuckled through my tears. For some reason, that struck me as really funny.

"You should have seen his expression. I think I must have really caught him off guard. But he promised to help straighten these things out after your bath." She paused for a moment, shifting to stand up. "Okay, that does it for soap, let's get you standing up and rinse you off." For some reason, I blushed again, though I wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't as if I could become any more naked (barring having all my fur fall out), and at any rate, Ella didn't seem bothered by it at all. After opening the drain, she pulled me to my feet and used the detachable shower head to rinse the soap out of my quills and fur. The room was shifting around me, and I clung to the towel rod – which fortunately for me was only just above my waist – for support. Once I was soap-free, she helped me out of the tub and wrapped a towel around me. I felt like I'd been demoted a decade in age. Of course, it _was_ kinda nice to have someone taking care of me...

I had to suppress the sudden urge to shake myself dry, and for a moment I just stood there, absorbing this new instinct (and trying not to fall over). I didn't dare follow it, however, because not only would it startle (and soak) Ella, but it would be rough on me as well. I was in enough pain as it was.

She guided me back into my room to my chair, and began using a second towel to dry my dreadlocks, which, now that they were full of water, were extremely heavy. I heard her exclaim several times, as she pricked herself on the sharp spikes, and I smirked, despite my tears. They were pretty, but dangerous, these new quills of mine.

I closed my eyes in fatigue, only opening them several minutes later when Ella went to the door and called Tails back. He returned shortly, with Knuckles and Amy in tow. Between the four of them, they had me re-bandaged rather quickly, and not a moment too soon. I was so tired from the whole ordeal that I was starting to feel dizzy, and all I wanted to do was curl up in bed.

And then Ella told me I couldn't yet.

"Why not?" I whined weakly, leaning heavily on the back of the chair.

"I want to put clean sheets on this bed before you lay down. Now that _you're_ clean, there's no sense in sleeping in a dirty bed." Well, she had a point. "And while we're doing that, Knuckles can help straighten out your quills." Knuckles nodded and stepped around behind me, examining my dreadlocks and expertly smoothing a few rogue quills into place while I dozed lightly. I vaguely heard him mention that he'd teach me how to take care of them for myself when I was feeling better.

"All right, time for all good little echidnas to get some sleep," Ella stated, helping me back to my feet. I gave her a funny look. It was nothing compared to the look Knuckles gave her.

"I beg your pardon?" He grumbled.

Ella laughed. "All right, all good little _ill_ echidnas."

It was my turn to grumble. "I'm not sick, I'm just injured." I collapsed onto the bed, curling up slightly on my side. "It does feel good to be clean, though."

Ella smiled and pushed a dreadlock out of my face and behind my shoulder. "Now you get some rest, and I'll bring you up some soup later."

I was already falling asleep. "M'k..."

The maid shooed everyone but Knuckles out of the room. I managed to open my eyes one last time. "Little early for your watch, in't it?"

He shrugged. "Chris is at school, Tails has some repairs to make to the X Tornado, and Sonic is God-knows-where, so I volunteered." He plopped, with a surprising lack of grace, into the armchair. I wondered why they didn't let me sit _there_ while they changed the bed sheets. Oh well, that moment was past, and I was too tired to worry about it much. But then something else from his statement struck me.

"Oh, man, _school_...! I completely forgot about school! I can't go back like this!"

"Then stop worrying about it." Knuckles stated simply. "I don't go to school. Sonic doesn't go to school. Hell, smart as he is, I don't think Tails has gone to a proper school since kindergarten, _if_ he went to that. So don't worry about it. You'll be fine."

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess... I hate my teachers anyway... and they hate me... Not anything I can do about it anyhow..." I yawned, feeling sleep claim me. "...G'night, Knux..." He arched an eyebrow at the nickname, but nodded.

"Sleep well, Ki."


	9. All Expenses Paid Guilt Trip

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary**  
**Chapter IX: All Expenses Paid Guilt Trip**

The world looks very different when you're 2'8". Everything seems so much bigger. Especially this darn house. Even though it takes the same amount of steps to get from downstairs to upstairs, the staircase seems nearly twice as big as it used to.

With Knuckles and Tanaka nearby in case I fell, I made my way slowly and awkwardly down the stairs, trying to get used to having a different center of balance – my long tail was throwing me off. It hadn't been much of a problem when walking from my bed to my bathroom, but it was a lot more obvious while I was looking down nearly fifteen feet toward the first floor. I clung to the railing with my left hand and stepped carefully. At least now I knew that my dizziness wasn't entirely due to my injuries.

"Are you all right, Miss Ki? Do you need to rest?"

"It's been two weeks, Tanaka. A flight of stairs isn't going to kill her."

"Shut up both of you. You're distracting me, and frankly, I don't feel like somersaulting down half a flight of _marble_ stairs, okay? I mean, I already have a broken tail. I don't need a smashed skull to match it."

They shut up.

In all, it took me nearly ten minutes to make it down the stairs – a humiliating trip but an achievement that I was pretty proud of, nevertheless. If I thought I could have done it without falling on my butt I would have jumped for joy.

"Ha! I did it!" Knuckles gave me a small smile. Tanaka grinned like an idiot. Mr. Tanaka's a pretty cool guy. Pretty weird, but pretty cool. He can be so serious most of the time but then he can get so excited about the strangest things. Maybe that's why I like him so much. Well, that and the fact that he'll drive me just about anywhere I need (or want) to go.

"Very nice, Miss Ki! I knew you could do it!" I tried not to laugh – he was _really_ pleased with my improvement. Only a few days before, I had been leaning on people to walk, and the only way I'd been able to get downstairs was by having someone – usually Tanaka – carry me. Hmm... Come to think of it, maybe _that's_ why he was so pleased with my improvement.

I tightened my new terrycloth bathrobe – a human's child size, but not too kiddy looking, fortunately – and shuffled across the entryway toward the dining room. It was particularly challenging since I had to keep my knees bent slightly to keep from falling over. Everyone looked up when I entered, and Tanaka announced me.

"Guess who came all the way down here by herself?" I got a round of applause and grinned, blushing, as I clambered up into my seat. By now I had gotten the hang of adjusting my tail so that I wouldn't hurt myself by sitting up – but it did help that it didn't hurt quite so much as it had. It was still in a splint, though, which was irritating as hell, especially since it frequently itched like crazy. I glanced to my side and grinned at the hedgehog sitting there.

"Hey, Sonic. Haven't seen much of you lately. You avoiding me on purpose or what?" I teased. He smiled weakly.

"Nah, just been... busy, I guess." He quickly looked away, much to my puzzlement.

"Sonic..." Before I could ask what was wrong, however, Ella entered the room with the main dish – lasagna – and everyone stopped talking in anticipation of the meal.

An extra chair had been squeezed in on my other side for Knuckles, who for once seemed more than happy to spend a little time with all of us. Or maybe he was just hungry. I'm not sure. At any rate, I was glad he was still around. We'd grown pretty close in the past two weeks – or at least as close as anyone probably could ever grow to such a loner. He was gone most of the day, off on his Emerald hunts I imagine, but he always made sure he was back in time for his watch – and dinner. Apparently, even the Guardian of Angel Island isn't immune to Ella's addictive cooking.

"What are you giggling about, girl?" I turned to find Knuckles looking at me strangely. I shrugged.

"Nothing in particular." I lied. "Just glad that I can walk from point A to point B without falling flat on my face. And... I'm glad you've been sticking around since I got hurt." I finished quietly, blushing. It wasn't so much that I had a crush on the red-furred echidna; I just really liked having him around. Especially since he was a member of my – new – species. The only other member of our species, as I had learned. It was comforting, I guess, to have him there. Though the fact that I was the only girl echidna and he was the only boy echidna _had_ made for more than a few awkward silences. But so far it hadn't been enough for me to want to avoid him. Or him me, apparently.

Pretending to cough, Knuckles nodded and turned his attention to the pasta being put on his plate. His stomach growled loudly, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

I turned happily back to my own plate. Ah, real food. I had been allowed off my soup diet only three days ago, and the prospect of eating something that actually required cutting up and chewing was a nice one. I finished quickly and was more than happy to accept the second helping Ella offered. I actually ended up having to loosen the sash of my robe slightly. Not that I minded. I leaned back in my chair, full, and more content than I had felt in weeks. I closed my eyes with a smile and listened to everyone talking around me. After two weeks, I was finally beginning to feel comfortable in this body, even if I _did_ hate being so short. Even the once disturbing experience of going to the bathroom had begun to feel normal.

Now if I could just learn to balance properly.

"Are you all right, Ki?" I peeked open one eye to look at my grandfather, the source of the question, and nodded.

"Yeah, Grandpa. I'm fine. Full." I added, patting my stomach. He grinned and I closed my eye again. And then I opened both of them and turned to Sonic, who was carefully avoiding looking at me.

"Sonic... what's with you?" He didn't turn to face me, which wasn't at all like him.

"I told you, Ki, it's nothing. I'm fine. I'm glad you're doing better."

"Heh, you and me both. It hasn't exactly been easy getting used to being covered in fur. Among other things." He didn't respond, and instead picked at imaginary specks of dust on his pristine gloves. I looked at my own gloves and rolled my eyes. Poor Ella had bleached the things a few times already, but I just couldn't seem to figure out how to keep them _clean_. How on earth did they _do_ it? I looked back at Sonic and frowned. "Sonic, are you sure you're okay? I mean, I kinda get the feeling you're avoiding me. And I mean, yeah, it's a little – okay, a _lot_ – bizarre that I'm not human anymore, but if I can get used to it, can't you? ...Sonic? Sonic, what's wrong? Will you talk to me already?"

His response was short. "I said I'm fine. I'm going for a run. Excuse me everyone." And he left the room, just like that, leaving everyone staring after him in confusion.

I think it's safe to say I was the most confused of all.

After dinner, we all watched a movie in the living room, and then I found myself being shooed up to bed. I protested, but my heart wasn't in it – I was tired. So tired, in fact, that I didn't bother to put up a fight as Knuckles scooped me up and carried me up the stairs. I put my arms around his neck and snuggled against his chest – and couldn't help but note that there wasn't the slightest peep of a protest from him.

"Y'know, I didn't really figure you for a movie kind of guy."

"What do you mean?"  
"Oh, it's just that when Grandpa suggested that we watch a movie, I kinda expected you to take off again."

"Do you _want_ me to leave?"

"No!" I tightened my grip on him slightly, and this time he looked down at me with a smirk. I frowned at him. "No, I didn't say that; now don't go putting words into my mouth. I just guess I made a wrong assumption, that's all. Anyway, you know what they say happens when you assume something."

"What's that?"

"You make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'."

"Heh, clever."

"Why, thank you."

He helped me into bed and I relaxed, relishing the newfound ability to lie – albeit carefully – on my stomach. My chest wasn't entirely healed, but after laying on one side or the other for two weeks, lying on my stomach was a relief. Lying on my back was still out of the question, however, given the condition my tail was in.

I _had_ started to wonder why everyone felt the need to watch over me at night, but it was a comfort. It was nice to know there was someone who was there who cared. Not-to-mention someone that I could lean on when I had to walk across the room to the bathroom at two in the morning. Apparently, my inner ear was _not _a morning person.

Knuckles didn't even give me a chance to search for Sophia, my plush lamb. He snatched her from my other side and handed her to me. I smiled and hugged her, squirming until I'd made myself as comfortable as possible. Knuckles pulled the quilt over me, tucking me in. I grinned.

"You're a sweetheart, you know that?"

He looked at me like I'd just insulted him, and I laughed. He took up his seat by my bed and stared at me. "_Sweetheart_? Me?"

"No, I was talking to the _other_ guy, just behind you." He rolled his eyes. "I just meant, you know, you taking care of me over the last couple of weeks, and just now, tucking me in and even handing me Sophia. And _without_ a quip about me being too old to sleep with a stuffed animal. It's sweet, that's all. Thanks. For everything. I appreciate it."

"Don't worry about it. Just do me a favor."

"What's that?"

"Don't tell Sonic I made sure you had your stuffed animal." I broke up laughing, and nodded my agreement.

"I promise." After a moment, and after I'd reigned in my fit of giggles, I spoke again. "Hey, Knux?"

He didn't even blink at the nickname anymore. "Yeah?"

"You have any idea why Sonic's being so weird?"

He started leafing through a magazine that Amy had left behind, then tossed it to the floor with a grimace. "That hedgehog's always weird. It's in his nature."

"You're one to talk."

"This coming from a nearly sixteen-year-old girl who still sleeps with stuffed animals."

We'd gotten into several of these good-natured 'bickering battles'. It was like suddenly having a big brother. But I definitely enjoyed it; Knuckles has a much better sense of humor than most people realize. Though I've also come to realize that he rarely shows it around anybody else. I feel privileged to be able to see this side of Knuckles, and I'm really glad that he trusts me enough to open up, even a little, around me.

"Oh, shut up. I'm serious. He's kinda worrying me. I mean, is he avoiding me? Or is it just my imagination? Maybe I'm just losing my mind. After all that's happened to me in the past six months, I don't think _that_ would surprise anyone. It's just that the only time he watches me is when I'm asleep – which is a little weird in and of itself, come to think of it, but anyway – and he wouldn't even talk to me at dinner, and then he just ran off, and—"

"Ki."

"What?"

"You're rambling."

"Oh. Sorry. Okay, in a nutshell: Sonic's being weirder than normal, and I want to know why."

"Hmm... Well, he probably blames himself for what happened to you."

"Huh?"

"You were out there on the Eggfort because _he_ got hurt, right? And then he let you convince him – against his better judgment – to leave you there to take care of yourself. And when you fell, even he couldn't get to you fast enough to save you. So he blames himself."

"What? But... but that's stupid! It's not his fault! If it's anyone's fault, it's mine, for being fool-hearted enough to jump out of a plane and then tell him I'd be okay when I really had no idea _what_ I was going to do! He only left me there because I told him to! And it's not like he _forced_ me to jump out of the X Tornado!"

"I know that, you know that, and Sonic knows that. But he still feels responsible."

"But he's not– Of all the stupid... That moron better talk to me next time I see him, or I'm gonna rip him a new one. At least that way he'll actually have a _reason_ to avoid me."

Knuckles snorted. "Now _there's_ a sight I'd like to see." I opened my mouth to continue my rant, but was interrupted by my bedroom door opening. Mr. Tanaka's head appeared and scolded us.

"Miss Ki, you need your rest."

"Tanaka, I've been doing nothing _but_ resting for the past two weeks!"

"And you've needed all of it. Go to sleep. And Mr. Knuckles, I trust you to stay with her, but please remember that she needs her rest if she's going to fully recover. Goodnight." The door closed, and I giggled. Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't matter how many times you hear him call me 'Mr. Knuckles', does it? You always find it funny."

"I c-can't help it! It just sounds so weird!"

"Yeah, well, calm down and go to sleep before you get him back in here, all right?"

I pouted and snuggled Sophia. "Yes, _father._ ...'Night, Knux."

He sighed, but he was smiling as he turned off my lamp. "Goodnight, Ki."


	10. We the Jury

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary  
****Chapter X: We the Jury...**

I awoke a few hours later to a very loud noise. I sat up on my knees and snapped on my bedside lamp. My fur was standing on end and I was clutching poor Sophia so tightly that she was only about half her normal size. As I turned my head to locate the source of the noise – panting with my lungs' effort to keep up with my pounding heart – I heard Knuckles speak.

"Oops." That was all he said, and he sounded pleased with himself. And then I saw why. Sonic stood at the foot of my bed, glaring at Knuckles, one paw clamped over his heart. Apparently, he hadn't expected the noise either. Knuckles locked gazes with me for a moment as he righted the plant stand that stood by my door – fortunately devoid of any plants at the moment – and nodded importantly at Sonic. I nodded back, slowly, as I figured out what his reasoning was. This was my chance to confront Sonic, because now that Knuckles was making his exit, Sonic was stuck here for his watch.

"Sorry to wake you, Ki."

"S-s'ok, Knux." I took a deep breath, feeling my fur begin to settle back into place. "See ya tomorrow?"

He nodded, and closed the door behind him. I settled back onto my bed, lying on my side so I could face the bedside chair. Grudgingly, Sonic settled into it, reaching to turn the lamp back out.

"Leave it on." He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"What for? I'm planning on getting some shut-eye. And so should you."

"I'm too wide awake to fall asleep now. And anyhow, we need to talk."

He yawned, stretching out dramatically and draping himself sideways over the chair. "Can't it wait? I'm tired."

"No, it _can't_ wait, Sonic Hedgehog. I want to know what the hell your problem is, and I wanna know why you're avoiding me."

"I _told_ you, I'm _not_ avoiding you. I've just been busy."

"Busy with what? I know Eggman's a handful, but he doesn't keep you busy twenty-four/seven."

"Only had to deal with Eggman a couple of times. Just had... _stuff_ to do."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just stuff!" He snapped irritably. I raised my eyebrows. 'Irritable' wasn't like him.

"'Excuse me for askin'..."

He sighed. "Sorry." We sat in silence for several minutes. I regarded him, slouching in my chair, looking like he was trying to think up an escape. He avoided my gaze, studying the lamp, the wall, his sneakers – anything but me. Finally, I grew tired of waiting and spoke up.

"It's not your fault." He looked at me with a start. I kept talking. "I know you're blaming yourself for what's happened to me, but it's not your fault. I'm the idiot that jumped outta the X Tornado. And I _told_ you to go on and let me take care of myself. So stop beating yourself up. And quit avoiding me. I... I miss my best bud, y'know?" He got a small smile at that, then looked away guiltily. I frowned. "Sonic... it's okay. I'm okay. I'm recovering. And I'm getting used to... well, this." I made a sweeping gesture with my one hand to refer to my new body. "I survived. I'll live. Sonic, look at me. ...Sonic."

I pushed myself up and sat cross-legged on the bed. Sonic finally looked back toward me – and for briefest of moments, his eyes traveled downward, taking in the rest of my furred form. He quickly returned his gaze to my face, but I blushed anyway, tugging on the blanket and pulling it over my lap and around my shoulders. I had gotten used to being, er, 'in the fur' around Knuckles, but it occurred to me that it was probably the first time since he'd helped treat my wounds that Sonic had actually seen me without at least a blanket or robe covering me. I wondered if I had disappointed him. And then I realized that he was waiting for me to say something more.

"Sonic, it's not your—"

"_Yes it is!"_

"It is _not, _Sonic!"

"If I hadn't screwed up, you wouldn't have even been on the Eggfort in the first place! And I knew, I _knew_ I shouldn't have left you, but I did anyway! I left you, knowing that you can't fly like Tails, you can't glide like Knuckles, you can't spindash like me, and you don't even have one of those _stupid_ hammers like Amy! I left you there, completely out in the open and _helpless_, and because of _ME_, _you_ nearly got _killed_!!"

"That's not true!! It wasn't because of you!! And just _where_ in _HELL_ do you get off calling your friggin' _savior_ '_HELPLESS_'??"

"_BECAUSE YOU ARE!!!_"

I still don't know how it happened. One second, I was sitting on my bed and trying to reason with Sonic. The next second, I was on top of him, the spikes of one paw buried in the floor next to his head, and the spikes of the other pressed against his throat in imitation of the way Knuckles had held me down several days before. I snarled at him, so angry that I couldn't form words.

Sonic, for his part, was too stunned to do anything more than lay there staring up at me, eyes wide and mouth agape.

We probably would have stayed like that for some time, too, if the door hadn't flown open a few seconds later.

"Ki? Where are you? Sonic? Hedgehog, if you've hurt her—"

Red and yellow shoes and green socks appeared in my peripheral vision, and I felt gloved hands grip my shoulders, pulling me up and off of the shell-shocked Sonic. I was hauled to my feet, and suddenly found myself face-to-face with Knuckles. He looked at me for a long moment, then down at Sonic, who hadn't so much as blinked since I'd attacked him. Raising his eyebrows, Knuckles looked back at me. He started to speak, but was interrupted by a commotion at the door. Chris was first through the door, followed quickly by Amy, Ella, Tanaka, and after a moment, a very sleepy-looking Cream and Cheese. Grandpa and Tails, of course, were absent, since both slept in the garage apartment and therefore hadn't heard the noise. Chris spoke first.

"Ki? ...What's going on?"

I suddenly felt very, very tired. My legs felt shaky, and my bare paw hurt from hitting – or rather, tearing a twin set of holes in – the floor. Knuckles noticed and put his arms around me slightly to support me. I glanced down at Sonic and watched him as he slowly, cautiously got to his feet. He still hadn't said anything since I'd attacked him. His appearance brought several confused sounds from the others in the room. With a strange expression at me – a mixture of hurt, anger, shock and embarrassment – he walked straight toward the door, gave a pointed look at the crowd in his way, and then walked past them when the door was cleared. When he was gone, I leaned my head wearily against Knuckles' shoulder. He looked down at me and spoke quietly.

"Are you okay?" I nodded timidly. "What... exactly happened?"

I just shook my head, not entirely able to come up with an explanation.

"You should go back to bed." He turned toward the door. "I'll, uh, I'll go ahead and take Sonic's watch. Apparently, he just remembered something he had to do." He sounded angry. I knew I'd have to explain what had happened later, but right now, I was just too tired. A quick glance at my bedside clock told me it was after three in the morning – no wonder I was so exhausted.

"Um... Miss Kianna, are you sure you're all right? Do you need anything?"

I didn't lift my head, but I lifted my left hand to examine the damage. The skin around my spikes was beginning to bruise. Knuckles took hold of my hand gently and looked at it.

"I think some ice for her paw would be good. Anything else hurt, Ki?" I shook my head again.

Ella went off to find an icepack, and shooed the others back to bed as she went. Questions could wait till morning, she said. Knuckles helped me back into bed, and after arranging the icepack on my hand (and after Ella had left), he climbed up onto the bed as well.

"What are you doing?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you think I'm sleeping in that chair again, you're crazy."

My voice rose several octaves. "B-but—you can't sleep in my bed!"

"Keep your voice down, or people will think we're up to something. Look, you're under the sheets, I'm on top of the sheets. You're going right to sleep, I'm going right to sleep. What's the problem?"

I had to admit he had a point. I sighed. "Oh, all right. There's an extra blanket on the shelf in the closet, if you want it."

"Thanks." After he got the blanket, I reached and turned out the light. I heard two thumps as Knuckles' shoes hit the floor, then waited patiently for him to get comfortable. I closed my eyes and started to fall asleep, but I had the strangest feeling that I was being watched. Opening my eyes, I found Knuckles sitting up slightly in the dark, as if watching me fall asleep.

He locked gazes with me for a long moment, and then, hesitantly, leaned toward me and placed a light kiss on my muzzle, just above my nose. Then, without another word, and while I gaped at him in shock, he lay back down, a smile firmly affixed to his snout. I stared at him for several minutes before I managed to speak.

"You're a _very_ brave guy, you know that?"

His smile widened at that, and I felt his bare paw settle gently on the wrist of my injured one. His hand was warm and comforting, in stark contrast to the ice pack that covered most of my paw. My fur stood on end, though – somehow, his touch seemed even more intimate than the brief kiss.

Giving my wrist a small squeeze, Knuckles finally spoke. "Goodnight, Ki."

With a sigh of slight confusion (though I must admit to a smile of my own), I closed my eyes.

"...Good...goodnight, Knuckles."


	11. Best Friend, Brother, or Something More?

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2007 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary**  
**Chapter XI: Best Friend, Brother, or Something More?**

I woke slowly the next morning, not bothering to open my eyes for several minutes. When I finally did, I discovered that it was only dawn – I hadn't been awake this early in... well, I wasn't sure how long, actually. I started to push myself up to my knees, but found that something was restraining me.

In a half-awake panic, I tried harder, and turned my head to either side...

And discovered that Knuckles had thrown one of his heavy, toned arms across my back sometime during the night. Amazingly, despite my movement, he was still fast asleep. I wondered at this – if he normally slept outside, while guarding the Master Emerald, then wouldn't he be a light sleeper? After all, it wouldn't be a good idea to be deep asleep when an enemy approaches. And yet, here he was, in such a deep sleep that several whispered and even a spoken 'Hey Knuckles!' couldn't wake him up.

It occurred to me, then, that maybe he just rarely (never?) felt safe enough to sleep deeply.

Ah, the warm fuzzy feelings. He trusted me. I smiled, squirmed a little to get comfortable again, and soon fell back asleep.

"Miss Ki!!"

I jolted awake a few hours later, and again, found that I couldn't quite get up. After the half-second or so that it took my eyes to focus, I found Knuckles looking back at me, eyes wide. It took me another two seconds to realize that his eyes were only a few inches from mine. In fact... his whole body was rather... close... to mine...

As one, we shrieked (well, I shrieked, he shouted), and jumped away from each other. He flew off his side of the bed and landed – with what had to be a _painful_ thud – at Ella's feet. I just managed to catch myself before falling off _my _side, sparing myself what would undoubtedly have been excruciating pain caused by landing on my mending tail. After staring down at Knuckles – who was staring up at me with what can only be described as a mortification – for several more seconds, I looked up to find Ella, Cream and Cheese taking in the scene before them.

Ella herself was looking down at Knuckles. Her expression transformed from shocked, to confused, to angry. She looked up at me with a disproving frown. I cut her off before she could speak.

"E-E-Ella, it, uh, i-it's not w-what it l-looks like, I s-swear!! We- I mean I-we-just, um... we were just sleeping, I swear!!"

She looked down at Knuckles. He looked up at her, his expression becoming sheepish. He nodded in agreement. "Just sleeping."

Ella looked back and forth between us for a moment, then nodded slowly. "All right... I trust you." Knuckles and I both let out a breath. I stretched back out on my bed, my tensed muscles complaining as I relaxed again. I stared at the edge of the bed, waiting for Knuckles to appear – he had vanished, and I assumed he was in the process of getting up, but it was taking a bit too long.

"Uh, Knux?"

"Unh?"

"You alive down there, or what?"

Another groan as a paw appeared on the side of the bed. Ella reached down and helped him back up, and he sat there with his arms folded around his knees and looking for all the world like the cat caught with the canary. I giggled at his expression, and after a moment, so did Ella and her mini-entourage. Knuckles scowled, but his eyes squinted slightly with restrained laughter. I sat back up, scooted over and put an arm around his shoulders.

"S'ok, Knux."

He turned his face toward me and winked, wearing a half-smile that only I could see. The smile disappeared as he turned back to Ella to ask about breakfast. Geesh, the guy had practically moved in with us, so much to the point that he wanted to know what we were having for breakfast. Of course, he insisted that he didn't live here; his home was on Angel Island, and he was only here to take care of me. Knuckles is so damn macho, but so incredibly adorable. It's a little confusing, really.

I shook my head, and as the others left the room, I tugged on one of Knuckles' dreadlocks, turning a 'thank you' into a 'thank-yow!' He whirled to look at me, one hand clamped to the spot where the assaulted quills attached to his head.

"What the hell was _that_ for?"

I grinned. "Just because."

He rolled his eyes. "And I thought Amy was weird."

"Hey! Don't you go comparing me to the Little Pink Princess, all right? I've worked too hard to _not_ be overly-girly to have such slander slung my way!"

He grinned. "Oh, I don't know... a little pink dye, a frilly dress... we could fix you up pretty nicely."

I slugged him. He grunted and grabbed my wrists to keep me from doing it again.

"Hey, no fair, leggo!"

"These spikes can kill, you know."

"I'm gonna kill _you_ if you don't let go of me."

"I'm not letting go until you apologize." He smirked.

"Apologize, my ass! You deserved what you got and you know it! Now let go before I _really_ let you have it!"

"How are you going to hit me if I've got hold of your hands?"

I let out a sound that was half-sigh, half-growl. His grin became one of victory.

"If I were Sonic, I think I'd say, 'Neener, neener, _neeee_-ner!'"

I scoffed. "Geez, you are _so_ immature!"

"I didn't say _I_ would say it. I said _Sonic_ would say it."

"You only said _that_ as an _excuse_ to say it!"

"So?"

"Oh for heaven's— Oh, come on, Knuckles, lemme go!"

"No."

"Why _not_?"

"Because this is fun."

"Yeah, for you maybe." I pulled back on my arms again, but his grip didn't budge. His expression sobered somewhat.

"I'm waiting."

"...And?"

"For an apology."

"For _what_?"

"For hitting me."

"Get stuffed."

Another grin. "_You _get stuffed."

"That's not very polite."

"I wasn't trying to be polite."

"Are you planning on hanging on to me all day, or what?"

"Maybe."

"Fine. I'll just sic Tanaka on you or something."

"Tanaka may be tough, but I'm tougher."

"You're a bigger pain in the ass, too."

"I do what I can."

"You don't let go soon and I swear to God I'll bite you." All things considered, there wasn't much else I could do. Unfortunately, the idea of me biting him seemed to be an idea that he liked. He raised an eyebrow and grinned ever wider.

"You really think that's going to make me _let_ _go_?"

I think I paled when I realized what was going through his head. "I-I-I didn't mean it like _that!!_"

"Uh huh, _sure_ you didn't."

"Knuckles!! Let _go_!!"

"I don't think I want to now."

"You didn't _want_ _to_ to begin with!"

"Then what makes you think I changed my mind?"

"You're starting to piss me _off_, Knuckles..."

"And...?"

"_AND?? _Whaddya mean _AND??_"

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're angry."

What? How the hell was I supposed to respond to that? I couldn't think of a way, so I just stared at him in surprise, my mouth hanging open slightly. Knuckles shot me another victory grin, leaned closer, and before I could react, placed a quick kiss _on my lips_.

"You're not too bad the rest of the time either," he smiled. I stared at him in shock.

"Uh-uh-uh—"

He let go of my arms and stood up. "C'mon, we better hurry downstairs, or they'll eat everything."

"Y-Y-You—You j-just—"

Knuckles just smiled at me as he reached down to retrieve his shoes, that sweet, true smile that he doesn't share with anyone very often. "Get dressed so we can go eat."

"D-dressed...Oh..." Still stunned, I robotically reached for my gloves, and then my shoes. I just couldn't quite process what had just happened.

"Hello? Anybody home? Ki... Wake _up_, girl."

"Huh?" I suddenly found myself staring at my half-tied sneaker. I couldn't even remember putting on the first. With a shake of my head to clear it, I glanced up to find Knuckles grinning down at me.

"You need help or something?"

"Huh? Oh, no... Actually, I think I'm finally getting the hang of doing this with my gloves on..." Blushing, I hurriedly finished tying the lace and stood up – and Knuckles made a point of helping me. For the first time, I found myself _very_ aware of his touch. Swallowing hard, I reached for my robe and started to pull it on, trying to come up with _normal_ conversation.

"I-I really need to do some shopping. None of my old stuff fits anymore, and it's getting too hot for terrycloth, even indoors."

"So don't wear it."

I looked up at him sharply. "And go downstairs _naked_? Are you nuts??"

"Ki." He frowned and leaned against my bedpost, crossing his arms over his chest. "We've been through this. More than once."

I scowled at him, my hands on my hips. "Knuckles, I am not going down to breakfast without my clothes. I'm not walking around all day _naked_. It just ain't _happenin'_, pal." I had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. He'd clearly decided that this was a good time to force me to get over my modesty issues.

"You won't be wearing any less than I am."

"Yeah, but—"

"Or Sonic. Or Tails."

"B-but—"

"You'll be more comfortable."

"No."

"Besides, Tanaka said something about letting you go outside today, and it's not healthy to wear all that over your fur."

"No!"

Rolling his eyes, Knuckles stepped toward me and untied my sash before I'd even finished tying it, despite my repeatedly striking at his arms to make him stop.

"Bug off!" I tried to retie my robe, but Knuckles was already pushing it off my shoulders. Before I'd realized what had hit me, he was hanging my robe on the back of my desk chair.

"Now hurry up; they're probably waiting for us."

"But-b-but—"

"Don't be a coward."

"Co-but-Hey! Who do you think you _are_?"

"Knuckles The Echidna. Guardian of Angel Island. Your friend, your teacher, and the hungriest damned Echidna on the planet. Hurry up or I'm leaving you here."

"Bu-"

"_Now_."

With a scowl, I started toward the door, stopping as soon as he turned away from me. I grabbed my robe again, hoping he wouldn't notice.

He did.

"_Damn_ it, Ki!" Knuckles yanked the terrycloth from my hands (nearly ripping it in the process) and stalked toward the French doors that led out onto my balcony.

"Knuckles! What are you doing?? Have you lost your mind??" Holding me back with one big paw braced squarely in the middle of my chest, he shoved through the doors and pitched my robe over the balcony railing. I could only watch in dismay as it floated down to the lawn below. To make matters worse, the sprinkler system chose that _exact_ moment to turn on. Knuckles turned toward me with a smirk.

"Problem solved." He let me go. "Now let's go eat."

I stared at him. Then I snapped. "You _creep_! You go get that _right now_!!"

"Maybe after breakfast. Besides, it's all wet now." He strolled past me and back through the open door. I followed him, fuming. When he paused to turn and look at me, I shoved him, as hard as I could. He stumbled back a few steps and grinned at me. "I was right. You _are_ cute when you're angry." If my quills weren't so heavy, they would have been sticking straight out from my head. My fur was already standing straight up – I'm sure I looked pretty funny; something like a cat does when it's spooked. He chuckled.

"With you looking like that, I'm going to have to start calling you bottlebrush-butt. Get a load of your tail."

"B-t-you—That _does_ it! I'm gonna KILL you!!"

"Yeah? Gotta catch me first." He stuck his tongue out at me and ran out of the room. Without thinking, I chased after him, then skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs. Knuckles was halfway down the stairs when he heard my shout. I had overbalanced and, to my horror, found myself falling headfirst toward the staircase. I flailed for the railing, and then the posts, just managing to catch one of them as my shoulder hit the corner of one of the stairs. Then, to my confusion, I came to a complete and instant halt.

Knuckles pulled me to my feet and looked me over. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I was still reeling from my tumble, and it took me a moment to realize that I wasn't falling anymore.

"Ki? Answer me. Are you all right?"

I looked up at him, then down at the stairs, and started shaking. "I-I'm okay... just freaked me out... I-Is my shoulder bleeding? It really hurts..." Making sure that I was holding on to the railing, Knuckles let go of me and examined my arm, carefully looking beneath my fur for damage.

"No... Gonna be a hell of a bruise, though... You think you get hurt often enough or what?"

I pouted, wiping tears out of my eyes with my free paw. "'S'your fault. If you hadn't thrown my robe outta the window, I wouldn't'of chased you."

He picked me up like he would a child – there was no denying I was acting immature – and cradled me in his arms. Frowning at me, he started down the stairs. "That's right. Blame it all on me. Everything that happens to you is all big bad Knuckles' fault." I squirmed in his arms – feeling his body against mine without even the barrier of clothes was... awkward, but not altogether unpleasant. I hadn't paid too much attention before, but since... what had happened...had _happened..._ Noting my struggle, Knuckles looked down at me, one eyebrow raised.

"Do you _want_ me to drop you, or what?" I blushed.

"It-it's not-I mean-I-uh..."

"You're still embarrassed, aren't you?"

"Uh..."

"I never realized humans were _this_ uptight."

"We're not—I mean, _they're_ not—_darn you!_"

"Uh-huh. So..." He rearranged his grip. "...how would you react if I did... oh, I dunno... _this_?" He stopped walking and bent his head down, nuzzling my neck affectionately – I had the feeling this was something akin to the way humans make out, and it rather startled me. I gripped his shoulder, and my eyes widened so much that they started to water.

"Kn-Knux-Knuckles-I-I-uh...wh-wholly g-geez..."

He chuckled into my fur before straightening up and grinning at me.

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought."

I started pouting again. "You're such a jerk. ...God, what was I thinking…?" The grin vanished from his face like it had never been.

"...You... You don't really mean that." He looked as if he thought I might. Realizing what I'd said and instantly regretting it, I shook my head and smiled at him, cuddling into his chest.

"No, I don't mean it."

"Good."

"But you're still a jerk."

He rolled his eyes and carried me to the door of the dining room, where he set me down. "Think you can make it to your chair without losing a limb?"

"Don't make me hit you again." He smiled and followed me into the room. The first thing I heard was Sonic's complaint about our tardiness ("About time! Ella wouldn't let us eat till you got here!"), and then a yelp from my grandfather. I looked up to find several pairs of eyes staring at me (mostly human), and I felt my face grow hot as I remembered why.

"Uh, morning everyone..." I shrunk down in my seat as far as I could without hurting my tail. Knuckles, however, grabbed my upper arm and hauled me back up before turning to address the others – mainly the humans – at the table.

"Something wrong?"

Grandpa stuttered for a moment before managing to form words. "Where's your robe?"

I tried to sink in my seat again, but Knuckles had a firm grip on my arm – fortunately not the one I had smashed moments before, which was throbbing terribly. "Uh... It's, uh... It's in the back yard." I finished sheepishly. I crossed my ankles and tried to make myself as small as possible. I felt inordinately silly, wearing shoes, socks and gloves and not a thing else, despite the fact that I wasn't really flashing anything to anyone. In fact, this was much more comfortable than wearing the robe – physically at least, if not socially.

Grandpa shot me a funny look. "In the back yard? What on earth is it doing there?"

"Um..." They all stared at me expectantly. Well, except for Sonic, who was too busy scarfing down his breakfast to notice much of anything else. "Uh..." Finally, I just pointed at Knuckles.

"He did it." Geez, I sounded like a four-year-old.

All eyes turned to look at the other echidna. He shrugged. "It's too hot for heavy clothes. She wouldn't come down without it, so I threw it out the window." He started eating as if nothing were out of the ordinary. I started eating just to occupy myself with something other than the stares I was receiving. I was halfway through my second pancake by the time grandpa spoke again.

"I really think you should be wearing _something_."

Tails piped up out of nowhere, stating matter-of-factly, "She's wearing shoes."

"Yes, but-"

"And gloves," Amy added.

"Yes, but-"

Ella cut him off. "Charles, I don't see anything that I shouldn't, do you?"

"Well, no, but-"

"I didn't think so. Eat your pancakes before they get cold."

"Yes, but-"

"If she's comfortable that way, then leave her alone. She's earned that much, don't you think?"

"Well, I suppose, but-"

"You've never said anything about the boys' attire."

"But that's different!"

"How so?" Ella wasn't even looking at him; she was speaking between bites of melon.

"Well, she's—and they're—oh, it just _is_!"

"I think you're being silly. What do you think, Tanaka?"

I was beginning to feel like a sideshow freak by this point. I tuned out the adults' conversation and glanced across the table, only to find Cream watching me with interest.

"Uh... morning, Cream?" It came out more like a question.

"Wouldn't you rather wear _something_?" Cream queried abruptly.

"Huh?"

Looking up from her meal, Amy clarified for me. "So people don't think you're a boy."

Knuckles snorted into his scrambled eggs. "I don't think there's much danger of _that_ happening. People usually only get confused about gender with children; the difference is a _little_ more apparent after puberty. Granted, it's not always as obvious with echidnas as it is with a lot of other species, but I think any Mobian with a nose and half a brain cell would be able to tell Ki's female. And if humans can't tell, that's their problem."

I learned something just then. Something I wasn't likely to forget anytime soon.

I learned that having orange juice in your sinuses is not fun.

By the time I'd recovered, the matter of my clothes had more-or-less been settled. Everyone was occupied with their meal – except for Sonic, who'd cleaned his plate and was now cleaning his _teeth_ with a toothpick from his sausage. I rolled my eyes, grinning.

"Sonic, your table manners are downright appalling."

He yelped and pressed a paw against his lip – he'd apparently speared himself with the toothpick. He gave me a sideways glare and flicked his toothpick down onto his plate.

"Gee, I'm _sorry_. Wouldn't want to offend your _delicate_ sensibilities."

I only just managed to swallow my mouthful of pancake before my jaw dropped in shock.

"Wh-what—"

Knuckles growled from where he sat on my other side. "Don't be an asshole, hedgehog."

"Don't talk _down_ to me, _echidna_."

"G-guys—"

"If you're going to treat Ki like this, you don't _deserve_ to be spoken to as an equal."

"_Knuckles_—!"

"_Me_ treat _her_ like this? What about _her?_ She nearly knocked my head off last night!"

"_Sonic_—!"

"_You _should know better than to provoke her! She's not used to being an echidna yet! She doesn't _know_ how to control her instincts!!"

"_Boys_—!!"

"It wouldn't have even happened if you hadn't woken her up last night!!"

"_STOP IT!!_" I screamed at them, on the verge of tears. But they were tears of anger – my two best friends were nearly at each other's throats, and I felt certain that they'd expect me to choose between the two friendships if this went much further.

Both boys abruptly stopped snarling at each other and stared at me, startled and wide-eyed. They (and everyone else in the room, who had been watching the suddenly vicious exchange in silent confusion), watched me as I carefully got down from my chair and made my way to the doorway.

"Sonic. Knuckles. Outside. _Now_."

Stone-still, they turned their heads to look at each other, then obediently slid down from their chairs and followed me. No one else said a word; I think they were all too shocked to really react. Willing my battered body to support me long enough to reach a chair, I led the two offenders out the kitchen door and onto the patio. Sinking into a chair, I pointed to the remaining empty seats around the table.

"Sit."

They sat.

"Ki—" Knuckles began, but I cut him off.

"Just what the hell did you two think you were _doing_ in there?"

"Ki, I—" Sonic tried to calm me down before I cut _him_ off as well.

"Shut up! Just—Shut up! Who the hell do you think you _are_? How _dare_ you talk to me the way you did in there! You have no right to treat me that way!"

"She's right, Soni—"

"And _YOU!_" Knuckles' eyebrows shot up into his quills as I turned on him. "You aren't helping anything by _fighting _with him! Look, I know you two will probably always have this stupid macho rivalry, but leave me the hell _out_ of it!! You're my _best friends_, and I am _not_ going to just sit by while you two fight about me, so _knock it off!!_"

We sat there in silence for several minutes, and neither Knuckles nor Sonic dared to move. I glared back at them, making eye contact with both in turn, and staring them down until each finally looked away. After about ten minutes, and after I'd calmed down from my initial burst of anger, I spoke again, quietly.

"Knuckles, why don't you go finish your breakfast, ok? Sonic and I need to talk."

Knuckles didn't say anything, but he did look at me carefully, as if trying to make sure that I would be okay. I gave him a tired smile and cocked my head in the direction of the kitchen door, shooing him back inside. He stood, nodding, and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze as he walked by. I turned to watch him go, ensuring that he'd actually return to the dining room and not hover inside the door to spy on us. Satisfied that he'd gone back to breakfast, I turned around and settled back into my seat.

"You, sir, have a lot of explaining to do."

Sonic slunk farther down into his chair.

"But so do I," I added, and he looked up, confusion plain on his face. I continued. "I'm really, _really_ sorry I tried to hurt you last night. I... I don't know what got into me. It's just... one second we were talking, and then..."

"Don't apologize. It's my fault. Knuckles…" He grit his teeth and forced himself to say it, "Knuckles is right; I provoked you. I'm sorry. I just... I don't want anything to happen to you. And... and when I thought I'd lost you... and it was my fault..."

I stared at him, furrowing my eyebrows. I started to speak, but he spoke first, continuing his confession while staring emptily at the glass tabletop.

"...I never should have left you. I should have known better. I should have known you'd tell me to go..."

"Sonic, its okay. You did the right thing. I _told _you to leave me, and I would have been angry if you hadn't. But I'm _not_ angry that you _did_ leave. Sonic, it was my own damn fault, all right? Not yours... _Not_ yours."

He looked up at me miserably. "But... if I hadn't—"

"I _told_ you to. So it's okay. Stop beating yourself up. I mean, look at you; this isn't the Sonic the Hedgehog I know. I don't blame you. Nobody blames you, Sonic. You may be fast, but you still can't be in two places at once. _It's not your fault_."

"It's just... when I heard you screaming... screaming for _me..._ t-to come save you... and... and I couldn't get to you..." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I thought you were _dead_..."

Sonic's voice cracked slightly, and I felt tears stinging my eyes. I got to my feet, ignoring the twinge in my tail as the tip of it hit the seat of my chair, and rounded the table until I stood next to Sonic. I put one of my paws on his shoulder in reassurance.

"But I'm _not_, Sonic."

"I thought... I never would have forgiven myself..."

"Sonic. I'm _alive_. I'm okay. I'm recovering. I'm gonna be fine. Please stop blaming yourself..."

He looked up and swallowed hard, then stood and turned to me. "Ki..."

A memory flitted back to me as he spoke my name, then. A memory of falling, endless falling, and Sonic calling out to me. No, not just calling, but screaming. Anguish, that even with his great gift of incredible speed, he couldn't reach me in time. A sound of pain, because he was certain that he was watching me die.

_I thought you were dead... I never would have forgiven myself..._

Suddenly, I understood.

"Sonic... I'm so sorry..."

His mouth fell open. "Wh-What—_You're_ sorry? B-But—"

"I'm sorry I was so stupid – I-I never meant to hurt you, I-I j-just—When I saw you lying there, I-I had to do something! I couldn't just... I couldn't just _leave_ you..."

Sonic listened silently, uncomprehending of the sudden role-reversal. When I trailed off, tears starting to spill down my cheeks, he shook his head and hesitantly reached up a paw to wipe the moisture from my cheek.

"Ki... No... No, Ki, you didn't... I... You..." He gave up, and finally whispered, "_Thank you..._"

I'm not sure how, or even exactly _when_ it happened, but the next thing I knew, I had my arms around him. Sonic embraced me, almost crushing me with his strength, his face lost in my dreadlocks. One of his hands rested against my back, the other behind my head, his fingers lacing into my quills as he held me close, so close, as if he never wanted to let go.

I hoped he never would.


	12. Memory n4: Comfort from an Unexpected So

**Disclaimer: **Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are titles are trademarks of Sonic Team/SEGA and are used without permission for entertainment purposes only.' My Life: Anything But Ordinary' is © 2003-2011 to Hamato Kameko. Ki The Echidna is © 2003-2011 to Hamato Kameko.

**Rating:** PG-13 for language and violence, and mild gore.

* * *

**My Life: Anything But Ordinary**  
**Chapter XII: Comfort from an Unexpected Source**

"All right, Chris, see you after school!" Kianna waved to her cousin and then crossed the street to the high school. Looking up the steps, devoid of students at a quarter to nine, she sighed and resigned herself to her fate.

It was the third time this week alone that she and Chris had been late to school. Grandpa understood, of course, and so did Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Norman, so there were no concerns of reprimands from them.

Unfortunately, the teachers and administrators were unaware of the activities that occupied so much of their free time. They certainly didn't know that Sonic the Hedgehog himself was _living_ with them.

And so, the teachers were unhappy with the fact that Ki was falling behind her normal grades in her first period geography class. Not that she really cared about geography anyway—heck, she was even making an '85'—but it was a required class, and her repeated tardiness was becoming a real issue.

Ki wondered, as she pushed through the glass doors, if she should simply go straight to the principal's office instead of her class. Cut out the middleman, so to speak. Then again, if she was lucky, maybe she could sneak to class unnoticed—Coach Farwell routinely fell asleep during first period.

"Miss Thorndyke. Late again, I see."

Ki's shoulders slumped as Mr. Reffington, the vice principal, dropped a plump hand on her shoulder.

"Good morning, Mr. Reffington," she muttered.

"I think you'd best stop by Mr. Young's office before going to class."

The teenager didn't bother to argue. She adjusted her backpack and turned around, entered the principal's secretary's office, and dropped wearily onto the hard wooden bench that stood along the wall.

"Back again, Kianna?"

"No, I'm just a figment of your imagination," Ki snapped. The secretary ignored her attitude; she was used to it in her profession.

"What a surprise." She went back to her keyboard.

Ki dug through her backpack and came up with a math paper and pencil. She rushed through the assignment she'd failed to get to the night before, and by the time the principal turned up a good thirty minutes later, she had finished it _and_ skimmed the important stuff from the two chapters she'd been assigned to read in her history text.

If nothing else, these 'breaks' in the principal's office at least let her get her homework done.

"Miss Thorndyke. My office, please."

Ki stuffed her belongings back into her bag and walked past the secretary's desk and through the door behind it.

"Y'know, I wouldn't be nearly as late if ya'll'd let me go straight to class. I'm _absent_ for first period, now."

"You wouldn't be late at all if you'd stop slacking off."

"I'm _on_ the A/B honor roll; I'd hardly call that 'slacking off.' So I miss part of geography sometimes, big deal. I'm making a B." _And helping save the world in my free time..._ she grumbled inwardly.

"Your grades aren't the issue, young lady, and you had better lose that attitude before I call your grandfather."

"Go right ahead; he knows I'm late and he's okay with it. Heck, _he_ drove us to school."

"Then perhaps I should interrupt your Aunt and Uncle at work, hmm? I'm sure they'd appreciate that."

Ki didn't even bother to try to correct her accent. She was just too ticked off to care. "Be my guest, _if_ you can get through to 'em. Aunt Lindsay's filmin' on location in Africa an' Uncle Norman's always in meetin's until at _least_ noon. An' they know about mine an' Chris's bein' late, too. Long as we keep our grades up, they ain't worried about it."

"'Ain't' is not a word, and as I've already _said_, your grades aren't the issue, here. Your consistent tardiness is disruptive, you're missing lessons, and—"

"An' my grades are among the best in the school. An' 'ain't' is so a word—it's in the dictionary. Look it up."

"That's _it!_" The principal snapped, and Ki cringed; she'd pushed to far. "One hour detention this afternoon, _and _tomorrow as well."

Ki stared at him. "_Two days?_ But—"

"Care to go for three?"

She slumped back in her chair, glaring at him. "No, sir." She sighed. Tails was supposed to start giving her piloting lessons today... "Any way I could serve some of it during lunch? I have... stuff I have to do after school."

"This is meant to be a punishment. It wouldn't be punishment if it was _convenient_ for you."

"But—!"

"One more word and you get another day."

Kianna closed her mouth, but continued to glare as the principal continued.

"Additionally, I will be sending a letter home to your grandfather, and just to make sure, I'll be sending one to both your aunt and uncle, as well. Though I suppose they can only do so much to control you." He muttered more to himself than to her as he shuffled the papers on his desk. he seemed to have forgotten she was even in the room. "Teenagers today... Seem to think they know everything, even though they're just heading themselves straight to the welfare line. Or prison... Well, Ernest, you can't save them all, can you?"

Ki gawked at him. "What the h—" she just barely managed to catch herself before winning a few more days of detention. "What is _that_ s'posed t'mean?"

The principal sighed in a dramatic, exasperated way. "Never mind. You get yourself to class, and hurry it up. I'm done with you."

Ki couldn't stop staring at him. How dare he make a comment like that, and right _in front of_ her? He was supposed to be a mentor, someone that kids could trust, someone who guided kids through their teenage years! And now he'd made it clear that despite his constant harassment, he's written her off? What the _hell_?

"What are you staring at? I told you to get to class. Now go, before I give you more detention!"

Ki didn't remember getting up, but suddenly she was walking down the hall to her second period class, grumbling at the tile floor.

"Where's he get off, anyway, talkin' t'me like that? Yeah, I'm sure _he_ was a perfect student in his day, too... walked t'school uphill both ways in the snow, no doubt, and barefoot... Someone oughta report him to... well, whatever you report this kinda thing to. Jackass. God, I wonder if Sonic realizes how good he's got it... Sure, he's gotta save the world and stuff, but at least he don't have to put up with this bullshit. Anyone tried to talk to_ him_ like that, he'd probably just say somethin' smartass and run off. Wish _I_ could just run off..."

With a heavy sigh, Ki reached out and turned the doorknob to her second period algebra class. Not bothering to look up, she shuffled over to a desk along the back wall and slumped into the seat, pulling her book out of her bag as she did so.

When she finally looked up, she discovered that everybody was staring at her. Odd, they never bothered to pay attention when she'd been late before. Narrowing her eyes, she snarled, "What're ya'll lookin' at? Mind yer _own_ bus'ness!"

Well, she hadn't been popular in the first place. She envied her cousin; he was friends with everybody. She, on the other hand, didn't have a friend in the school: she was either taunted and bullied or ignored entirely. It seemed to be her lot in life, socially—she'd never been very popular, at any of the dozen-plus schools she'd attended. She apparently lacked the necessary social skills. The class turned back around to face the teacher, presumably to gauge his reaction. Satisfied, Ki looked back down at her book and pulled out her homework.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss... well, well, well, who _have_ we here?"

Kianna nearly jumped out of her skin when the teacher addressed her; Mr. Joraden never gave her the time of day but to tell her to be quiet, and anyway, this voice didn't belong to him. This voice was different. Not the tired and jaded, two years from retirement fifty-something year old man with the droll, monotone voice.

No, this voice was different entirely. Younger, much younger. A very much alive sound, one that could easily command the attention of anyone it wished. Smooth as silk. No, 'greasy' was a better word. Greasy and threatening, calculated and cruel, sarcastic and sly. It could be any of these things, and more.

And it was familiar. She knew this voice. Knew it all too well.

The blood draining from her face, Ki pressed her hands against the desktop to stop the shaking that had abruptly beset them. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't. Not here. Not in her new life. It just couldn't be. It wasn't fair!

With wide eyes, and unable to hide her horror, she slowly looked up, swallowing in an attempt to relieve the sudden dryness in her throat.

"B-But... how... Wh-What are _you_ doing here?"

The addressed smiled at her as he recapped his dry erase marker. But the smile wasn't one of happiness, no. In fact, she'd grown to recognize this expression. A dark sort of pleasure, the kind that came from making other people suffer. She'd seen it frequently on the face of another: Eggman.

The man shrugged, a not-so-innocent gesture. "I got an offer, and the pay's better out here. Mr. Joraden has apparently decided to retire a bit early. Can't say I blame him, if he's got students like _you_ to put up with." The smile widened. Ki blushed, feeling the eyes of every student in the room bore into her. "But what are the odds that I'd have you as a student again? Hmm, small world, isn't it? So, how are you doing? How're those parents of yours—Oh! _That's_ right. _I'm_ so sorry." His tone made it clear he was anything but. "I forgot. Silly me. I forgot, everyone's supposed to overlook it when you do something wrong, because it's not your fault. After all, what else can we expect from an..."

Ki shook her head in mute protest. '_Please don't say it, please don't say it; please, _please_, don't _do_ this to me!'_

"..._orphan?_"

She tried to glare at him, but she couldn't. She was in too much shock. No, Coach Freeman didn't belong here. Not in her new life. No, it wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. She shouldn't have to sit through an hour of his taunts every day. It wasn't right. She'd escaped that life, escaped him. No. No, no, no!

"Shut up."

The class oooh'ed at her defiance, then swiveled their heads to watch the teacher's reaction. Coach Freeman, for his part, stalked down the middle aisle to her desk. Ki shrunk back against the wall as the coach slapped his hands on her desktop and leaned over her, until his nose was only inches from hers. She struggled to stay in control of her emotions, when all she wanted to do was shove him away and throw the desk at him. The coach's smile had vanished, and he glared at her threateningly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I-I said, 'shut up.' Just leave me alone. I haven't done anything."

"You were late."

"I was in the principal's office. Call him and ask him yourself."

"I thought you said you hadn't done anything. Why were you in the principal's office? Trying to make him feel sorry for 'Little Orphan Ki-Annie?" The class snickered and that damnable smile returned to the coach's face. Ki felt her own face growing hot again, until it was all but unbearable. She'd hoped she'd never have to hear that nickname again, but thanks to Coach Freeman, the whole school would likely be calling her by it within a day.

"N-No, I was just late to first period!"

"Oh, you were just late. I see. Can't get dressed without Mommy and Daddy's help?"

"It has nothing to do with my parents!"

"Oh, come now, you don't have to be brave for us, does she class?" More snickers. "Poor little Ki-Annie. It's so sad, really. No parents. All alone in the world."

"That's not true!"

"Oh? Tell me, you really think these relatives of yours took you in because they wanted you? It doesn't work that way. They took you in for the same reason the rest did; they feel sorry for the ickle wittle orphan."

"They do _too_ want me! They love me!" Ki blinked back tears; she knew they loved her, never doubted it, but the words still hurt. Because they had been true, so many times in the past. But they weren't true now. They weren't. ...Were they? _No!_ Of course not! She had her aunt and her uncle and Grandpa Chuck and Chris and Ella and Tanaka, Tails and Cream and Amy and Sonic, her hero and best friend in the world, and they all loved her; they were a family, no matter what anyone said! Even Knuckles, she knew she could trust with her life, and they'd barely spoken! She had a family and she had friends and he was wrong, wrong wrong WRONG!

The coach just chuckled, a condescending 'look at the naïve little girl' kind of laugh, and straightened up. Taking their cue as if he'd been their teacher for years, the rest of the class laughed as well. Coach Freeman started back to the front of the room. "Yes, you keep telling yourself that, if it makes you feel better. Oh, by-the-way," he turned around in front of his white board to face her, "do you have your homework, or is Little Orphan Ki-Annie too busy feeling sorry for herself to get it done?"

Ki narrowed her eyes at him, ignoring the tears that slid down her cheeks, and picked up her homework. "Right here, _sir_."

"Well, pass it up, then."

She handed it to the closest student in front of her, and they passed it down the row and up to the front of the class. The coach examined the paper with a critical expression. After several excruciatingly long seconds, he spoke again.

"Hmmm... Well, it's just too bad I don't accept papers after the tardy bell has rung, Miss Thorndyke." The class sniggered again; they were very much enjoying the downright cruel display the teacher was putting on at her expense.

"B-But, I told you, I was in the principal's office! I got here as soon as he let me go!"

"Excuses, Miss Thorndyke, are merely the skin of a truth stuffed with a lie. I don't accept them. And I don't accept late work, either." He promptly tore her homework into several pieces and dropped it ceremoniously into the trashcan. "I'm afraid you get a zero for the day. Though I doubt you'd have done all that well, anyway."

Ki could take no more. She simply couldn't. That last insinuation had pushed her over the edge. With her hands shaking so violently that she could barely make them function, she shoved her textbook back into her bag and stood up, making for the door.

"Where do you think you're going? Class _isn't_ over yet."

She glared at the door. "What difference does it make? I'm getting a zero anyway."

"That doesn't mean you get to skip class. Sit down."

"No."

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. I told you to sit down."

"And I said, '_No_.'"

"Little girl, if I have to—" But he didn't get to finish his sentence, because the school bell cut him off. Ki was the first person out the door, not only from her class, but out of the entire hallway. Foregoing the front doors, which would have forced her to walk past the office, where she'd likely be stopped, Ki shoved her way through a side door that led out onto a patio where some of the students ate their lunch. First lunch was already in session, and the students around her barely noticed as she strode through the picnic tables and rounded the corner of the building, breaking into a run when she was out of sight.

She ran until she reached the sidewalk, barely slowed to check for traffic before barreling across the street, then turned sharply when she reached the adjacent sidewalk and took off in the direction of home. She ran as fast and as hard as she could, expressing her emotions in a way that didn't hurt quite so much as crying did, and didn't slow until she saw the familiar white gates of home just a block away.

Home. _Her_ home. Her family. She _had_ a family. She wasn't alone. She was loved. She _was_. The coach was just a monster. She hated him, God, how she hated him. But she couldn't do anything about it. She'd tried reporting him, before. But no one had ever listened. They'd always assumed she was trying to get attention, to make up for what was lacking at home. It's what everyone assumed. She was used to it, really.

What she couldn't understand was what cruel, horrible reason fate had for throwing this curveball at her. High School for a country girl in a big city was bad enough, but _this_? What _possible_ reason could there be for sending the tormenter from her old school to teach_ here_? Station Square was her haven, it was safer, it was much kinder than back home, even if the teachers did have a bit of an obsession with tardiness and even if she _did_ got shoved into her locker almost daily.

Scrubbing at her eyes to dry them, she punched in the security code to unlock the small side gate. She shoved through it and slammed it shut behind her, then kept going toward the back of the house. The front door would likely be locked, to discourage paparazzi and her aunt's fans and anyway, she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to go inside. If she went inside, she'd have to deal with her family, and she didn't want to have to answer the question of just _why_ she was home so early. Instead, making sure her bag was secured over both shoulders, she took a running start and pulled herself up into the massive branches of one of the larger trees on the property, seeking someplace to be alone. She considered climbing across and jumping onto the balcony, from where she could sneak into the house and spend the afternoon in her own room, but, tired, decided to just hang out in the tree for a while.

Taking off her bag and hanging it from a smaller sturdy branch, she arranged herself securely on her own branch and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, closing her eyes. She sighed, frowning and briefly fighting back another wave of tears before deciding to just let them come because she was alone anyway. No, it just wasn't fair. She'd only been living here a month, and already old troubles were catching up with her.

She nearly fell out of the tree when a voice emanated from the branches above her.

"Ki?"

She looked up sharply, clutching at branches to regain her balance. "Sonic! I-I'm sorry; I didn't kn-know anyone was u-up here... I'll go..."

He smiled and shrugged. "No, it's okay; I don't mind the company. You're home kinda early, though, aren't you? I thought you didn't get out until 2:30. It's only about eleven."

Ki shrugged, not bothering to puzzle out how he knew the time without looking at a watch, and looked back down. Sonic climbed down to a branch that sprouted from the tree only an inch or two from hers, and at near the same level. She tried to ignore his concerned scrutiny.

"Hey, are you crying?"

Ki leaned back against the trunk of the tree and scrubbed at her eyes with the cuff of one sleeve.

"No, not really... it's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing."

"I'm fine, Sonic, really." Sonic sat sideways on his branch, swinging his feet and scratching the back of his neck in thought. Ki thought it funny that a hedgehog, of all creatures, should be so at ease this far from the ground.

"I don't believe you." The comment was softer than she would have expected from him, and she looked up sharply.

"Look... I just... I don't wanna talk about it, all right? I just had a bad day, that's all."

"I've never seen you cry. Not even when you're hurt—not even when you had to have all those stitches in your leg. Must take a lot to make you cry. Musta been something serious." He scooted toward the trunk of the tree and leaned back. The arrangement of the branches meant that his shoulder was right against hers—an odd bit of comfort that Ki was grudgingly thankful for.

"It's no big deal, really. I'm okay."

"Y'know, we Mobians can sense it when someone's lying."

Ki considered that for a moment, then had to bite back a giggle. "You liar! Than how do you explain Knuckles?"

Sonic grinned. "Oops. I guess you caught me there. Still... You sure you don't wanna talk about it?"

Ki sighed and grew serious again. "No, I just—" But her voice broke, and before she knew it, she'd spilled out the entire story, including the things that had happened at her last school, all in between sobs. Sonic put his hand on her shoulder and just listened. When she'd finally finished, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve again, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't've bothered you with all that."

"Hey, what're friends for, right? Besides, I don't mind. Hey, it's okay, really. I can't believe this jerk still has a job; I mean, I've heard of people getting _arrested_ for less."

Ki shrugged. "He's good at it. And since he only harasses me, and makes friends with everyone else... I dunno. They didn't listen at my old school. They won't listen here. I'm not exactly a popular kid, with the students _or_ the teachers. I'm not really a people person, y'know. Not a _human_ people person, anyway."

Sonic grinned at this. "Sometimes I think you're really a Mobian at heart. Come to think of it, maybe you _are_, if Tails' theory that this planet and Mobius are somehow the _same_ planet is true."

"Why the heck I can relate to a supersonic blue hedgehog better than I can to other humans is beyond me. Maybe Tails _is_ right."

"Or maybe it's just that we're the only teenagers in the whole house."

Kianna laughed. "There's that, too. ...Well, there _is_ Knuckles..."

"Yeah, but he doesn't really count. We hardly eversee _him_."

"And you can't really talk to him, either."

"Tell me about it. You either bore him, annoy him, or flat-out piss him off."

"Sonic!"

"What?"

"...I don't think I've ever heard you swear before."

He shrugged. "Happens. And I have to admit I sort of enjoy pissing Knuckles off. It's just so _easy_, y'know?"

Ki grinned and closed her eyes. After a moment, her expression hardened. "The jackass wouldn't even take my homework. And it wasn't even my fault that I was _late_ to _his_ class. You watch, Sonic. I'm gonna fail this class, now."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

Ki's eyes flew open. "Huh? What are you—_Sonic?_" She looked all around—the branches above her, the ground below her, she even scanned the manor grounds.

Sonic was nowhere to be seen.


End file.
